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

unlucky cynic that was a hard and brave call you made there - i couldnt make up my mind hence keeping powder dry - as i said before long looks the better position currently
and remember this: 'a man who made no mistakes made nothing' so no shame in a wrong / unlucky call
gl

at least i wasn't punting silly money and it's all too easy to let losses run away too ..... have actually had a very good (fiscal) year so far, so long may it continue

anyway, it could now be argued that with DOW piercing 18,000 with relative ease, and FTSE finishing above 6740, that a further run north could easily be in prospect, always supposing the greasy ones do not spoil the party

DOW Short 18040

looks as though you should be thinking of getting out if you haven't already :-(

the reality in greece - LOL
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/article-3160028/Mac-Greek-financial-crisis.html

Stop took me out on Dow Short.

He who dares. :)

Probably good idea to see how the vote goes now in Greece.

trading the indices today will be very difficult and will required great concentration and nimble fingers

despite IMF's misgivings, the odds must still favour the greeks approving the measures proposed, but it is blatantly obvious that slabs of debt will indeed have to be forgiven through one device or another

my (hopeful) guess is that such a move has already been discreetly mooted

given the uncertainty, i have taken a small ftse short and, having been stupid, shall now try to be sensible and promptly take a half-way decent profit if presented

GREECE - a very sobering comment
Tonight's Greek parliamentary vote remains the biggest event risk for financial markets, with the very real possibility that the resolution found between creditors and Syriza could be all for nothing if it fails to find approval with politicians in Athens. The Greek crisis is certainly not over yet. We’re only at the start of several national votes which potentially could derail the bailout. Beyond this, the IMF's criticism of the plan highlights the concern that, without any form of guarantee of debt sustainability, the deal would just be a sticking plaster on a debt wound that would continue to grow.

Surely the debt wound is already beyond Greece's ability to repay? I heard today that the debt and the repayment terms are already being compared to the Versailles treaty. It's so crippling that poverty and the collapse of the economy are inevitable.

it seems the only people ignoring that greece can never repay this are the parasites looking out for themselves and desperately trying to hold together a pathetic, broken, corrupt to the core eu - it is time to break this rubbish up and cameron should be using this to the advantage of the uk - not grovelling and giving another £1B of uk money to greece if he capitulates to eu demands - what a total bunch of wasters!

welcome to the eu asylum!

still good for trading though :-)

Seems you are happy to be with those who are parasites!

ha ha lol fred - i didnt cause the problem or agree the outcome - that took years of useless dedication by the weak back stabbing intellectually brain dead grovelling do gooding parasites within the eu, imf, greek leadership and elsewhere - but i will clean up in the ensuing chaos -be rude not to ;
not forgetting the self 'regulating' corruption to a scale never seen before

not happy with the mess - that is someone else's massive pile of steaming eu poo, and anything i do will not change a thing.......... not happy but will not waste an opportunity presented to me and others by idiots in charge of the eu asylum - who are some of the worlds 'traveling merchants' the blind leading the blind............

and if they cant sort out greece what hope do they have with any problems from russia LOL; who have already effectively told them to naff off and do their own thing as they like anyhow.................

dz.....have you ever considered that there might be a moral issue here? Making money out of other people's misfortune is probably carried out by many investors / traders, but they at least have the common sense to keep their heads below the parapet. If you think it's right call everyone else except yourself corrupt, then expect to get some flack.
As told to me by a German lady a few years back, one of the reasons for trying to find a solution to unifying Europe is to put an end to European wars. She at least had the humility to understand that nationalism has it's benefits and it's disadvantages. You seem to want......chaos?

harry - that is because you do not understand - the chaos is self inflicted by others (governments, religious leaders, the high ranking officials and similar of this world) and will happen for as long as this world continues as it is - the whole world is in continual chaos for now and there will never be real lasting peace while this world / system exists - it is impossible for there to be real peace for as long as there are all these different false religions each with their own beliefs (& other reasons) so if you think it is wrong to make a living out of chaos you are wrong - EVERYONE does it one way or another it cannot be helped because the chaos is worldwide - there are too many do gooders who do not have a clue - wise up and take the blinkers off
no one (who is sane and decent) wants another european war or any other war - but it will happen for as long as this world as it is exists - unfortunately you do not understand and man will never know the way out either while this world /system continues
no one wants disease, hunger, the poor, death, suffering, earthquakes, wars, disasters et cetera - but it will happen............. for now.......................
i dont like chaos - i detest chaos - but what else is there to do; it is beyond man's control or ability to control but also self inflicted by human kind and their selfish desires - and everything you see in this world / system both historic and present is temporary - every bit of it

Greek MPs have approved tough economic measures required to enable an €86bn eurozone bailout deal to go ahead.

The legislation includes tax rises and an increase in the retirement age.

Two hundred and twenty nine lawmakers voted Yes, 64 voted No and six abstained. Half of the No votes came from the governing Syriza party.

FTSE edging back. Dow within a stones throw of all time high again. What crisis!!

Del,

Does "corruption" spread up or down the "ladder", or from "dynasty" to another?

Are the "punters" immune from the disease, or just the initiators?

fred - i dont want to swamp this thread with more off topic - it is something that is best discussed f2f rather than posted in a few sentences as the topic is potentially so massive

hope everyone here had a profitable day