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 basic problem is that modern societies are too dependant on oil as a means of power and the world needs to change this....oil will always have its use but the human race must hurry up the alternatives....and governments must encourage this with tax breaks for solar, hydrogen, wind, etc.....what does this government offer in incentives.....precious little.....usual muck ups (sorry about the political bit) but they really have not got a clue as how to run this country !, and you have to ask will the next lot be any better ?.

So what's the answer if you have no faith in the political system? Revolution? Then what?
Maybe best to stick to democracy & roll with the punches???

one swallow does not a summer make, but a warm and sunny day in early april is nevertheless more than welcome

A bit early in the day to take notice of DOW futures, but currently +2, so pretty flat.
In addition 12:30 PM US Housing Starts, 12:30 PM US Building Permits, 12:30 PM US Initial Jobless Claims (JUL 12) to come today, which may put a stop to all that blue!

you pessimist!

Realist! Better to know what's coming than pretend it's all sunshine & champagne!

Cynic, are you Eric Cantona........

Amazing what you can do if you stop people shorting financials.
The new unburstable bubble.... :-)

Suspect it won't last though. I'd be surprised if the FTSE makes it through 5500, and I'd be surprised if some other wheel doesn't fall off the global economy before too long.

In my opinion....

Strawbs.

agreed but at least it makes it a tradable market + as sp rises you can get some money back on loss making stocks.
Seem to have a lot of them! lol

Fortunately I don't hold anything at the moment.

My brief "toe dipping" exercise in the market didn't last long..... :-)

Strawbs.

DOW now looking to open +36. Onwards & upwards, hopefully!

Better expected results from Us bank this morning miners holding ftse back, certainly a good day yesterday to have bought into banks eg lloyds though perhaps only for a short hold

JPMorgan earnings tumble but the giant banking company's results still manage to surpass Wall Street's expectations.

Last Updated: July 17, 2008: 7:18 AM EDT

JPMorgan Chase said Thursday that earnings plunged in the second quarter, stung by $1.1 billion in writedowns, but the firm still managed to beat Wall Street projections.

JPMorgan's shares rose more than 3% in pre-market trading.

The New York-based bank reported net income of $2 billion in the second quarter. The firm said earnings fell 55%, to 54 cents per share from $1.20 a share in the year-earlier quarter.

But without the $540 million net loss stemming from the acquisition of Bear Stearns, net income would have been $2.5 billion, the company said. The merger closed in May.

Analysts had expected a 64% decline in earnings to 44 cents per share, according to a consensus provided by Thomson/FirstCall.

Best enjoy the bear market rally whilst it lasts, oil dropping through 130 would send dow a lot higher though not so good for ftse oils. just a comment for people who like to trade us but find dow too volatile...s&p can be played on spreadbet accounts at far lower leverage levels if preferred

even this news (Construction of single-family homes plummets to 17-year low) does not seem to have upset Dow opening indications

" Merrill Lynch & Co. probably will report its fourth straight quarterly loss later today because of credit-market writedowns, analysts estimate."

Anyone any idea what time they report today?
EDIT: "The company will post the latest figures today after the market shuts."

big bids coming

they report after the US market closes Harrycat
Whoops! Just seen you've already said that!

(Dow) Stocks open higher, boosted by better-than-expected profits from JPMorgan, Coca-Cola and United Technologies.

are fools buying this