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

because I have been trading other stocks in a lively market and frankly haven't had time. It's a usual technique with index trading for me to start with a small position and increase if it is a long way against me in a particularly volatile market as in my experience, moves such as the one we saw on Friday are frequently followed by some sort of temporary correction. I've been trading a long time and feel comfortable with my own reading of the indices, I'm sure everyone trades them differently

You tell em Splat! Covered MKS short +10

hilary

you are going to have to rework those estimates of yours
they are wildly out

anyway, you can't dispute official figures with 'private' estimates

i can't and don't fundamentally disagree with you splat, but i certainly would not have opened a position at us close on friday with a very uncertain w/e ahead .... i like to be able to keep an eye on things, which is why i do not trade the likes of nikkei

that's what I mean cynic - we all have different trading styles. It's all about each person's perceived, or acceptable risk - as it turns out, I was out far too early, so hardly the greatest trade on earth.

Splat - I had +72 first thing - 5216 - 5288 and am now short @5285 - funny old game :-)

Camelot,

I am not going to have to rework anything. The public sector does not contribute 52% to UK GDP. Do you actually know and understand what GDP is?

dearie me

I suggest you look at the map again

its attribution is quite clear

I'm not disputing the map. As you say, it is quite clear and it relates to public sector spending as a percentage of GDP by region.

What I am disputing is your opening statement which clearly says "Over 52 per cent of the UKs GDP is derived from public sector activity". That statement is unrelated to the graph and implies something completely different to the graph.

personally, i don't care! .... nor do i have much interest in (manipulated) gdp figures and the like ..... as much as anything else, it is sentiment and confidence that drives the consumer (real) economy (as it does the markets), and it is that that ultimately drives uk's prosperity

as it stands, we all feel pretty battered, with further tax hikes inevitable and unemployment unlikely to start falling consistently for a further 6 months, or more likely 12

From Wikipedia:

Public administration and defence

The Blue Book 2006 reports that this sector added gross value of 55,280 million to the UK economy in 2004.[55]

Education

The Blue Book 2006 reports that this sector added gross value of 61,786 million to the UK economy in 2004.[55]

Health and social work

The Blue Book 2006 reports that this sector added gross value of 75,817 million to the UK economy in 2004.[55]

Add those figures together, adjust them for recent growth and tell me what percentage of total UK GDP they represent.

You'll find it's a long way short of 52%

nice one skinners :-)

Official figures before the Budget on Wednesday disclose that public spending makes up 52 per cent of the gross domestic product.

The figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) disclose that central and local government spending made up 52.1 per cent of Britains GDP last year.

The OECD forecast that this proportion would continue to rise over the next two years as more Britons became reliant on the welfare state.

The figures mark an important turning point for Britain, which historically has prided itself on being a nation of private enterprise and endeavour.

If you dont agree, you can rant to them here
nicholas.bray@oecd.org

Camelot,

What you have said in post 5322 is not in contention, albeit that figure is now over a year old and the true percentage is now 62% of GDP.

It is the opening paragraph of your original post that is both inaccurate and misleading.

62% ?

lol

probably would be if labour was still in power

(but forecast is only 53.4%)

Yes, currently 62% as at the end of March 2010.

Official ONS data

for heavens sake hilary you are talking about debt

you have not read the post properly at all

The post is about annual expenditure

Camelot,

I'm not arguing about spending or debt, although I would point out to you that your OECD figures were based upon older data available before the budget. More up to date figures have become available within the last few weeks which show an increase in both public sector spending and debt. I have already said that I don't dispute your map showing public sector spending by region.

If you want to see the up to date precise amounts of public sector spending and debt, click here.

What I have been arguing about is the opening sentence of your post 5296 which clearly reads:

"Over 52 per cent of the UKs GDP is derived from public sector activity"

That, as I have already wasted plenty of time explaining, is a blatant inaccuracy. I don't know if they are your words or if they are a cut'n'paste from somewhere else, but they are wrong. How many times do I need to repeat myself?

10-1 on Hilary.....

:-)