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

"is a cut of 2.5% in VAT really going to stimulate a buying spree?"

No chance.

But is buying really drying up - or simply moving down a slot?

You can't afford a new house so you spend some of the money you have saved on a car.

You can't justify buying a fresh car so you treat yourself to the plasma you have always wanted.

IMHO people are still spending. They can't kick the habit, so they buy less expensive goodies.

Interesting article in yesterday's FT about the problems of calling a restaurant a restaurant. Makes it sound pricey - so you call it a brasserie or bistro or whatever.

TP

if you think people are still spending, then take a walk down your high street ..... reality does not lie!

c,

That's what I based my impression on.

Putney High Street looked pretty busy to me on Friday - as were the hostelries in the evening.

TP

It's going to be patchy up until christmas, for example Manchester was busy as ever I have seen It at this time of the year on Saturday.

After December watch out the normal lull will be much deeper IMHO.

the following is a clear indication of what retailers think ..... bear in mind that parents will always give to their children and cut back on themselves ....

British toy maker Character said on Monday it had seen a double-digit percentage drop in sales volumes as retailers have cut back on orders due to a downturn in consumer spending.

Loads of data out this week both in the U.K & U.S., re house & retail sales, so should see a more interesting week than the last one. Interim results out for three of the big water Co's & finals out for Imp Tobacco, to name just a few.

Thanksgiving long weekend stateside coming up which according to live oscar means even more madness than usual though more of the countertrend tendencies in indices and currencies.825 s&p resistance in down channel . Commercial real estate teetering on the edge

oh dear
scaling out of my shorts today, all at small profits. no losses yet fortunately.
still holding a few and still looking to add to at some point. will get it right one day.
looking for a swing high at 4220/4250. may or may not happen.
regards
jkd

i certainly wonder if all this is far too far far too fast ..... i really fail to see why FTSE (and Dow) has got itself so excited ...... international trade has started to look pretty soggy in just the last 3 weeks or so ..... our industry, chemical and shipping related, is at the sharp end of any recesssion, and we are now getting consistent and very disturbing reports from both M/E and F/E

cynic
i could well be wrong, but i want to be well and truly short when we get the final
scare, i just dont think we have seen it yet, it is still ahead of us.
if im wrong of course i dont want to get caught on the wrong side either. not easy.
i might get lucky. in the mean time im trying to be careful by building my shorts slowly.
patience is the name of the game.
regards
jkd

I think there was a bit of market manip on Friday with news release an hour before options expiry at least according to market ticker. Vol also thin. short squeeze plus a lot of short term momentum traders jumping on whichever direction things move in the last hour. I think the bears also want the market to go up so they can short it back down again. Also bottom fishers, value hunters pitching in on the new low. Thanksgiving coming up, and a few stimulus packages asnd citi group bailout. Oil bouncing off 50 good for commodity etf's as well. Who knows what the lunatic will sway next?

extraordinary but almost typical of current market ..... lookaed at Dow = +550 ..... went to wash up for 5 mins and had fallen by 170 points and during time i write this, has recovered about 50!

Shorted ftse at 4220, stop at 4200. Turbo nutter bastard rally, glad I wasn't fighting it this time!Surely a gap trade on ftse for the morning so will hold overnight and if stopped out reload at open, did you take a few hundred bull points cynic you seem good at riding the trend

nope ..... far too scary and have been relaxing of an evening instead of scaring myself to death trying to guess the direction and watching minute/minute

Should be interesting to see how long this current round of "bail out" euphoria lasts. I think the next big drop is probably on it's way. Something just looks very wrong with the way markets are moving these days, and I fear many could be caught by surprise when the next big drop comes. I don't know what the trigger will be yet, perhaps the auto giants going pop, spiralling losses in one of the many bailed out organisations, a new "too big to fail" business, or for real terror, the worlds creditors turning off the tap (by choice or otherwise).

Stay safe everyone....

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

One of the Insurers/Assurers would make a change-):

According to signalwatch Dow range is 8200-8600 now

DOW
my own eye was on 8500, and though had i been playing, i am sure i would have got it wrong (fright/greed!), it is noticeable that it failed to hold it, quite spectacularly.

imo, the rise had no justification and hence its fragility.
whether or not the inderx will now plummet just nefore the T'giving hol, remains to be seen

I suspect the next time the DOW hits support it'll plunge straight through and head towards 6500. Unless it can break out of this range to the upside, I think it's only a matter of time now before it takes the path of least resistance and breaks to the downside instead. The FTSE I suspect will follow a similar route, and given the state of our economy/finances (relative to other major markets) it may even be far worse .....

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

i am not quite so pessimistic, and would look for 7800 as a reasonable base