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

Check out Faroe Petroleum you lot....worth more than a punt....(FPM)....

Naaaahhh...Drive a 911 porsche turbo s.....there is one in my street...absolutey fabulous(with a poshie accent)....

Shortie, you a Santa pod man like myself??

Just closed a FTSE short @6582.6 + 13

Closed out FTSE longs this morning taking profits, now short off 6584.

Balerboy - I used to be a Santa-Pod man, back in the days when I owned an Evo.

As for the Porsche, well the Ruf (Porsche) 930 twin turbo is the one for me.

Cynic - Are you the owner of a Supersport?

yes; i was surprised at how much better it was than the regular GT
and no, i never ever buy new :-)

used to have a 911 many years ago, but Beloved hated it, and you sure knew it if you drove it a long way

I've owned fast cars but never a luxury brand or a new car. Here's to maybe one day though! FTSE 1 Hr below

confess that "tarts' cars" are a fringe benefit of one's own company
in fact, i only drive about 7/8,000 miles a year, and it's such a hedonistic pleasure

We going down again today , for god's sake .

'tis very unpredictable as wall street showed last night

Wall st doesn't tend to take us with it at the moment.

ok then .... add a short week with a long w/e + the great unknown of ukraine scene

FTSE / DOW

FtSE short closed 6563 +21

Considering going long as a move back to 6590 looks likely

6566.8 gone long

2 Hr Wall St

Looks probable Shortie - no figures now til 1:30.

What do you think on the DOW skinny, its not looking overbought so could well continue north. RSI has been improving, its above support and appears to have broken out of the trend...

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will announce an initiative on Wednesday to devote $600 million to address a central challenge of today's economy: How to train workers for skills they need for jobs that are open but hard to fill. American companies will need 522,000 software developers and computer programmers over the next 10 years as well as nearly 110,000 pharmacists, 224,000 electricians and 941,000 customer service representatives, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To try to fill the void, Obama will announce during a visit to Oakdale, Pennsylvania, a plan to use $500 million in existing Labor Department funds to pay for a competition. The goal of the competition is to spur employers and community colleges to work together and develop training programs that are designed to get workers prepared for specific jobs that already exist. Another $100 million will be drawn from a Labor Department fund to support programs aimed at training apprentices in new fields with fast-growing occupations such as information technology, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. Employers need people trained as welders, machinists, dental hygienists and even electrical power line installers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Administration officials who briefed reporters about the initiative said the aim is to address the needs of a fast-changing economy. "The pace of change - technology, globalization - has changed the nature of work and the speed at which necessary skills change," said a senior Obama administration official. Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, is to announce the initiative at an event at Community College of Allegheny County on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. The plan is part of an effort launched in Obama's State of the Union speech in January to act with his own presidential authority in the absence of a consensus from a divided Congress. While the economy has rebounded since bottoming out early in Obama's first term, many Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, and Obama has made it a priority of his second term to help the middle class and reduce income inequality.