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

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

claret yep - pretty much as expected hope you made some shekels! :-)

No trading Friday. Had to endure watching Australia pick England apart at Lords.

Start again Monday.

oooops england! &.................

The former Greek finance minster has said his country's economic reforms are "going to fail", just as formal talks on a huge bailout are set to begin.

In a BBC interview, Yanis Varoufakis said Greece was subject to a programme that will "go down in history as the greatest disaster of macroeconomic management ever".

not exactly a vote of confidence there then :-)

Greek banks are reopening after three weeks of closures sparked by the deadlock over the country's debt.

Athens reached a cash-for-reforms deal aimed at avoiding a debt default and an exit from the eurozone.

But several restrictions remain in place, including a block on money transfers abroad, and Greeks also face price rises with an increase in VAT.

Meanwhile, Germany has said it is prepared to consider further debt concessions to Greece.

FTSE has struggled up to a pretty hefty hurdle at just over 6800
in the recent past, it has stumbled here, so i am certainly unwilling to take any postion, but it should be monitored carefully

.

neither dow nor ftse could their day's highs and it is starting to look more and more that south is the next direction