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

The same mentality though -3D printers initially cost thousands if not tens of thousands- so were for the well off or big business - not anymore.

Also some of the potential implementations are mind blowing - almost like the replicators on Star trek - or even to making organs.

The Hershey deal - for food!

Are they voice activated or will I require a degree in CAD to simply produce a keyring...

Not a clue - I only trade the things! :-)

i'm sure a PhD Mech Eng would be of help :-)

Thats me out then, I'll stick DDD in my YAGNI list...

Yet! :-)

Just taken 20 off an early morning short.

Very astute of you skinny, that'll buy the coffee this morning.,.

Well done Skinny

Cheers chaps - Witching this morning, so maybe worth a few limit orders!

There you go BB.

I'm looking at shorting oil, plenty to suggest this years going to be oversupplied. Maybe take a ETFS, anyone else like minded?

Sounds reasonable - I trade (limited) SUK2 in my SIPP on occasion through HL, they have this list of Oil ETFs.

Well it hit 6,844 - 10 short of my limit sell.

I'm dubious of adding to FTSE shorts right now.

Iron Ore Prices Tumble as Chinese Buyers Beat a Retreat

By Rhiannon Hoyle SYDNEY--Prices of iron ore, one of the world's best-performing industrial commodities last year, have fallen to their lowest level in six months as Chinese buyers retreat from the market due to ebbing domestic steel production and burgeoning stockpiles. The price fall is good news for consumers like Asian steelmakers, but it poses a challenge to mining companies like Rio Tinto PLC that have bet billions of dollars on producing more iron ore, largely in expectation of healthy demand from China. Steel production in China, which buys three in every five tons of iron ore sold by sea, has been slowing since September, partly in response to a push by the country's leaders to cut the industry's bloated capacity and environmental pollution. Several furnaces have been shut down on government orders in the northern province of Hebei, which churns out roughly a quarter of the nation's steel. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the country's daily production rate of crude steel dropped to 2.01 million metric tons in December--its lowest level for the year. Slowing output has contributed to a buildup of material at the country's major ports, weakening demand for iron-ore imports. Figures showing that China's growth cooled slightly in the fourth quarter, as Beijing eased back on efforts to bolster the world's No. 2 economy, have also been a brake on demand. In the fourth quarter of 2013, China's economy grew 7.7% from a year ago, slower than the 7.8% it posted in the previous quarter, data from the statistics bureau showed. This is now feeding through to iron-ore prices, which fell only 7% last year compared with heftier declines for industrial commodities like coking coal and nickel, down 17% and 19% respectively. Until recently, traders had bet that China's heavy spending on subways, bridges and other infrastructure would keep demand for the steelmaking commodity high. "It is the dead of the northern winter and the market is looking for direction, and while the outlook for China in 2014 is considered to be pretty stable the market didn't take the GDP numbers very well," said Sydney-based UBS Analyst Tom Price. The global iron-ore benchmark--set at China's Tianjin port in the country's north--fell 2% to US$124.80 a ton Monday, its weakest level since July last year, according to data from The Steel Index. Iron ore is now down 7% since the beginning of the year, having declined nine of the past 11 trading days. Trade has been hit by the onset of winter, which makes it more difficult for steelmakers to bring in commodities by ship. Steel mills also appear to have enough iron ore on hand to last them into next month, analysts said. That runs counter to historical trends for this time of year when prices hold steady, or even rise, as the winter freeze passes and steelmakers look to top up their stocks ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations. But the holiday starts relatively early this year, on Jan. 31, which gives steel mills little time to make substantial purchases before the weeklong festivities. "Instead they had been restocking quite aggressively before the winter period," which helped keep a floor under prices in late 2013, said Mr. Price. The downswing in iron-ore prices contributed to shares in Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest iron-ore miner by output, falling 1.0% Tuesday, while rival Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. also dropped 4.6%. The companies underperformed the broader Australian share-market, which rose 0.7%. Standard Bank Analyst Melinda Moore said there are increasing worries among financial market players about the options open to China's leaders in terms of cutting pollution from heavy industry and limiting credit growth, both of which would hit the country's steel sector hard. Prices for Chinese steel reinforcing bar, or rebar, have also been falling on weak demand from end-users, like manufacturers and construction companies, and that too is forcing some mills to slow production right down, according to an iron-ore manager at one of China's largest steelmakers. "At current prices, they can't make any money, but shutting a furnace would be too costly for them so they find a way to keep it running while producing less steel," said the manager, who couldn't be named as he isn't authorized to speak to the media. Also weighing on sentiment: the potential for a sudden glut of material on the market as miners like Rio Tinto increase production to record levels in Australia. UBS estimates the seaborne market surplus will rise from just 2 million tons in 2012 to 262 million tons by 2016.

an interesting article, but i also wouldn't put it past the chinese to manipulate the market

I have a limit sell on Ftse @ 6797 in case markets go tits up, not holding my breath just yet though :0)

if shortie actually shorted dow yesterday, i fear he has called it wrong - and will probably have closed that down anyway .... markets look disinclined to pull back

Agree cynic, would appear buy high sell higher hasn't disintegrated just yet.