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

I went long INDU @ 10,043 and currently reasonably pleased :)

The biggest crisis yet perhaps (the end of the West?) ... and we are about to vote in a new leader.

Really sensible that. Irrespective of your politics, the last thing we need tomorrow is a new man at the helm. My instincts say there will be another election very soon as the markets tumble.

apparently Proctor and Gamble was trading around $60 when it suddenly started trading at $30

as its in the index, the index dived, triggered stop loss positions and bobs your uncle

originated out of the nasdaq system

reminds me of that story about the last train uphill being easier if empty and with no passengers or cargo.Toot! Toot! i could well be dislodged and dumped out tomorrow. i actually dont mind.just my own view and opinion.i am actually doing ok. glad i wasnt watching today.(thurs) shan't be watching Fri either.
regards
jkd

DOW down over 100 points again so far, with no particular reason that I can see. Looks like a friday sell-off with nervous traders following yesterday's debacle (Procter/Gamble).

Down another 100 points ...how about my shirt ?....

cynic Nymex hits $75 as predicted where to from here?

don't forget that a strong $ has an inverse effect of both oil and gold .... thus, in last week's(??) ROE terms, oil is still about $85 ..... leaving forex considerations aside, my own view is that $75/85 is now the "natural" level for oil, though i confess i have no logic to support that assertion

A dramatic fall in the Dow Jones industrial average appears to have been caused by a trader hitting the button for 'billion' not 'million'.

The Dow Jones fell by nearly 1,000 points, and the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange announced that all trades more than 60 per cent above or below market that occurred between 2.40pm and 3.00pm New York time would be cancelled.

A report on CNBC said that the problem came when a deal involving Proctor & Gamble shares was incorrectly entered.

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"We, along with the rest of the financial industry, are investigating to find the source of today's market volatility," Citigroup said in a statement. "At this point we have no evidence that Citi was involved in any erroneous transaction."

Proctor & Gamble shares fell by over a third on the day's trading.

"We don't know what caused it," said Procter & Gamble spokeswoman Jennifer Chelune. "We know that that was an electronic trade, and we're looking into it with Nasdaq and the other major electronic exchanges."

Great, does that mean I get some losses back?

K
only if you hung in there and didnt sell. then you get your losses back by virtue of default. i.e you didnt take them. for my part i did take some of them on friday.some were actual losses, others were losses of unrealised profits, i.e. smaller profits than may have otherwise been. such is the way.
regards
jkd
.

i have made a few posts since, just to update everyone on all my current posted positions. i do have many others and dont post them all, so if ive missed any please do let me know.i try to post updates and keep current, regardless of making or losing money on them. honesty is best policy.
regards
jkd

I am going into the property market

I want 3 houses on Oxford St and a hotel on Mayfair

I will pay for them from the rent you will pay me if you land on them

LOL

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Euro-zone finance ministers, in the early hours of Monday morning, created a EUR500 billion support plan for countries facing financial meltdown, with a pledge of up to EUR250 billion in additional funds from the International Monetary Fund.

The bulk of this money, EUR440 billion, will come from a series of loans made by euro-zone governments through a special-purpose vehicle. This vehicle will raise money in public markets, backed by guarantees from euro-zone countries. An additional EUR60 billion will come from surplus funds in the EU's 2007-13 budget. This money will be made available under a clause in the European Union governing treaty that releases funds in "exceptional circumstances," Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado told a news conference following the ministers' meeting.

European governments and central banks along with the U.S. Federal Reserve early Monday announced dramatic moves to try and contain the crisis over Europe's creditworthiness, with concerted announcements not seen since the darkest days of 2007 and 2008.

The biggest surprise move was a stunning U-turn by the European Central Bank, which said it will intervene in the euro zone's public and private debt markets, among other things. The move is aimed to "ensure depth and liquidity in those market segments which are dysfunctional," the ECB said in a unscheduled statement.

Greetings all.
Appreciate your honest comments JKD.
All the best.
Amar

Angela Merkel is facing a vital regional election in North Rhine Westphalia today. Will be interesting to see what happens if she isn't re-elected. If she isn't, the Upper House Bundesrat would lose it's majority & the coalition would be looking shaky. All 'ifs & buts', but the Greek debt bailout isn't done & dusted yet.

The trouble is that these med. countries have been behaving like the industrialised northern countries.....spending vast amounts of capital that they haven't...Portugal has built massive motorways all over the place....this costs a fortune....this is a small, nice little country but does not have heavy industry on a scale like some of the other big boys in europe.....because they are in the euro and the relative safety that that brings...they have spent colossal fortunes that they will never have...same goes for Spain, and Greece...as for Britain...slightly different with a nutcase labour spending politician in place, what do you expect ?...

Hi,
I have a dispute with my broker as they closed all my CFD opsitions by mistake, assumed that one of my shares was consolidated, so the margin call.

They refuse to do anything, giving wrong record of what happened!!
Can someone advicse me what to do. FSA investigation may take eight weeks!!!

Is there any solisitor or organization to help me?

Many thanks,
Ahoj

how do you know the logic under which they closed all your positions?
is it in writing?
were you given notice of margin requirement - IG always give about 24 hours to rectify?
did your broker close more stocks than were necessary to restore your margin?

your own records will need to be spot on

It happened to me once for one or two deals but everything was put back to normal soon...

Ahoj -as posted on the Costain thread - I'm not sure I see how the consolidation caused a margin call. If you had 10,000 shares @23p pre-consolidation, the cost was 2,300. Post consolidation you have 1,000 shares @2.30 - cost the same - 2,300.