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

Apple announces increase to stock buyback program, dividend. Will split stock. Earnings, sales also beat forecasts.
sp +7.55% after hours

Facebook profit triples on mobile growth
Facebook reported solid mobile advertising growth in its first-quarter results Wednesday.
sp +1.64% after hours

skinny earlier you said....." I haven't even looked at the TALK thread for months - it currently shows over 6900 unread posts.".................ends

where did you find this????

Im looking at it and its showing nil???

Admitedly it covers more than its fair share of politics(and arguments), but its up to the individual to set the agenda at anyone time on the thread re- subject.

Their are a big % of us on there that like politics, but that doesnt mean any other subject cannot be debated.

How about the demise of Man Utd GF?

Yes that aswel Chris which you already have started earlier this week and the thread stretched to another 7 posts, which just goes to show if theirs interest in your subject it will get debated.

Good point made.

GF - if you look at the thread list, it shows the status of each thread for you - so the NOWT thread (for me) shows Total posts 39888, unread 6988.

skinny it says under unread 3 now at the moment. can you explain further, cant see what you are meaning, cheers.

Those numbers are relevant to you - here is what I see.

Thats strange, is that because you have a premium subs????

and why should they be different to free subs members?.

Deep breath!.........this could take a while! ;o)

No its the same for each individual - it just shows how many posts on any thread that I have read or are unread, your view will show the same for you.

Unread for me now shows 6990, so one new post has been made that I haven't read.

This bloke's a few cans short of a six pack as well.

Cheers skinny i see harry hasnt changed........poor lad.

Just that your post from yesterday comes over a little misty to regular readers of that thread.

Anyway no probs. We are all individuals and although some detest politics others thrive on it.

I see John Burko in a similar situation is wanting to stop the noise and arguing in the commons on PMQs because a handful of female MPs dont like it.

I say NO sorry Burko Quit, we the public like it as it is and wouldnt watch it if it werent competitive. He makes the most noise anyway.

That your husband Hilary, 1 pint short of a crate, he he.

Went short FTSE first thing 6700, still running my Cable short also.

Mario speaks @10.

zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz, at the most he'll announce that he's still thinking about some kind of QE or stimulus.... 6710 resistance being tested..

6712.8 second short opened

Sterling steady vs dollar, slips vs euro after Ifo; Draghi eyed

By Jamie McGeever LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Sterling held steady on Thursday against the dollar, supported by expectations Britain's strengthening economy will lead it to raise interest rates before the U.S. It slipped against the euro after another strong economic indicator from the euro zone. The Ifo index of German business sentiment rose more than expected in March, pushing the euro up across the board ID:nB4N0KR00O . The euro rose 0.1 percent on the day to 82.40 pence EURGBP= , while sterling was little changed against the dollar at just below $1.68 GBP= , close to the 4 1/2-year high of $1.6842 struck a week ago. The debate on when the Bank of England will raise rates continues to dominate sterling trading. With unemployment falling faster than the Bank had expected and the UK among the fastest growing developed economies in the world, the betting is it could be early next year GBPOIS= . The latest evidence of the health of the UK consumer will come at 1000 GMT on Thursday, when the Confederation of British Industry releases its monthly Distributive Trades report. The survey of the retail sector comes ahead of official retail sales figures on Friday. Less than a year ago, sterling was trading under $1.50. Now it is close to $1.70. Some analysts say another catalyst in the form of surprisingly strong economic news might be needed to maintain its upward momentum. "Sterling continues to look well-supported, with $1.6845 now acting as a temporary cap," said Michael Hewson, senior markets strategist at CMC Markets. "But the move higher continues to lack conviction, meaning that we continue to have some resistance here." On euro/sterling, Hewson said the 200-day moving average around 83.90 pence will continue to provide major technical resistance to further gains for the euro. Euro/sterling traders will also be paying close attention to a speech later on Thursday by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, particularly what he says about expectations of a quantitative easing programme that could weaken the euro.