Morning all. Market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

CDS traders might be systematically underestimating the riskiness of some of the traditionally more fiscally heavy-weight nations, especially dear Old Blighty, according to a fascinating presentation given by the head of research at Natixis, Patrick Artus, at a conference in Paris yesterday.
Which governments are really at risk of bankruptcy?

Could China face a consumer credit bubble? That may seem like a contradiction. After all, China is often criticised for having too-high savings. But the two might not be incompatible.
Watch leveraged Chinese buyers for bubble signs

IG Index, the Citys oldest spread-betting firm, has reported that the pick-up in market fortunes since the big crash of 2008 is prompting new clients to sign up to the firm at the rate of 3,000 a month. IG is making on average about 2,000 per client over a six-month period, down on what it was yielding during the volatility of the financial crisis.
Stock market plays fanfare for the common man

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	HANG SENG	SHANGHAI COMPOSITE

KOSPI	SENSEX
NYMEX CRUDE	GOLD	VIX

Good morning traders!

In the US last night, the Dow rose 116 points at 10,725, the Nasdaq gained 32
points at 2,320 and the S&P500 was up 14 points at 1,150.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was down 24.73 points at 10,740.17, while the Hang
Seng ended the morning off 283.75 points at 21,394.23.

Crude oil traded at $78.68 a barrel on Nymex.

Happy trading!

G.

CRDA Credit Suisse: downgraded to neutral from outperform
CW. Citigroup: upgraded to buy from hold, tp raised to 170 from 155
HSBA RBS: upgraded to buy from hold
IGG Merrill: reiterated buy, tp raised to 450 from 410
JMAT Credit Suisse: downgraded to underperform from neutral
SHP JPMorgan: upgraded to overweight from neutral, tp raised to 1450 from 1345

Twitter Updates
more >>

Morning Kyoto.
No positions for me right now. Closed my BARC and LLOY yesterday for minor profits. Having seen what the Dow did last night I thought I had closed too soon but the Gods are with me as they are both down.

Morning TT. Lucky escape :-) Not much on my radar yet this morning. Was irrationally hoping for a repeat performance in LAD which spiked down around 5% yesterday first thing, but no such luck. Will have to try and make honest money instead :-) Still long HMV - sat on a small loss at the moment. Keeping thinking EMG is interesting for a multi-day long, but looking for a normalisation of the volume to indicate the sellers might have cleared out. Looks some way off support though.

TT/Kyoto - I went long on SVT yesterday @1105 as the dividend cut seemed to go down well, and I had been looking to get back in at some point!

Opening Market Overview

FTSE not looking too happy today.
Added a LLOY long to my portfolio as it appears to be holding up reasonably well. Of course a staement like that will kill it now!

Have a look at IMT (gone ex.divi today) possible recovery play chaps.

Midday Market Overview

I can't long IMT for ethical reasons :-) Along with the so-called 'defence' sector and VED. Guess I'm not much of a capitalist!

I'm showing EMG now 10% below it's MA25 which begins to make it look interesting, but I'm sick as a dog today so no positions for me before the close. AHL computer driven system fund looks like it's stopped working as well, so not quite convinced.

These China stories are beginning to look vaguely concerning so I'm beginning to wonder about the long-bias I've had for the last nine months.

MA25 RBS+16% NWR+15%, only those two above 10 on my watchlist and it seems a long time since that was last the case.

Sorry to hear you are ill Kyoto. Must be all of that foreign food!! LOL

Can't see much of a compromise on ethics myself K when short term trading these Companies, but would agree with you for anything long term which I stay clear of in most things these days.

Stan - the problem with some of my short term trades is that they have a habit of turning into longer term plays :-) Especially lately. My trading account is at an all time high but I seem to be becoming a longer-term trader. I haven't faced up to the question of whether it's by accident or design... Can't stand tobacco companies but then I used to work for a medical company so it can focus the mind a bit.

TT - foreign food? I had a nice ham and pineapple pizza this evening :-) Meniere's as usual. Midnight here and two hours to go before I make it to bed.

Starting to look quite ugly now. FTSE's just wiped out its gains from the start of the year according to my spreadsheet.

Know what you mean K about short term trades turning into long term investments, that's why I have been very glad to use the capital losses facility at the end of the tax year of late -):

After the British Government tried to disown me two years ago I switched mainly to spread betting on principle - so unfortunately I don't have the luxury. On the other hand, making a nice profit at the end of the year and not having to let HMRC get their grubby paws on any of it makes running the risk seem so worth it. Next time they drag me and my wife through the courts, at least they won't be using my tax money to do it :-)

Also not helpful:

BERLIN (AFP)--Parts of Munich airport were sealed Wednesday after a laptop tested positive for explosives and its owner fled into a secured area, police said

End-of-day Market Overview