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

DOW futures now -278

along with a great many others, i have been badly mangled today, so it's back to rebuilding again ..... the one minor consolation is that, whereas 4/5 years ago i would quite possibly have been annihilated, i have been following my own advice by banking good profits throughout the year(s) - and derided by some for so doing - and thanks to L2, i was able to act and sell very quickly first thing ..... very big OUCH but it would have been much much worse had i not done so

This fall has been on the cards for a long time now.

Question is, when to get in, now or in a day or two.

Sold loads of stuff during the year and as of late EOG, TRP, HOIL and a few others....but still have positions in many....so taken a few risks today buying in using profits from above sales.

The selling isn't ridiculous at all.

Japan is a net exporter of currency. You've now got all of the insurers who are going to have to turn their money into JPY to pay out their claims. This kills the carry trade which is, in turn, linked to equity markets.

If you go back to the Kobe (spelling???) earthquake in 1995, the JPY hit its all time high in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The only thing you've got to watch out for is the BOJ who don't want the Yen to rise and who aren't afraid to get on the offer and sell it down. This could easily cause unexpected spikes. Kampo (arm of Japanese post office) are a known seller.

On the plus side, Japan are going to need a lot of heavy duty construction equipment in the weeks and months ahead. The likes of Caterpillar should benefit.

Agree to being put through the wringer, and profits (some) taken over recent months look to have been positively astute, (lucky more like). However it is times like these where you need to have nerves of steel, because it is possible to make decent profits from the volatility. Good luck all
2517

Hilary, I think I am right in saying though, that the general insurers (Aviva, Pru, etc) are not directly affected. It is the re-insurance market which is exposed, such as Catlin, Novae, Omega etc who are all part of the LLoyds Ins set up?

Doesn't matter what their names are, Harry, they still need to buy Yen.

All depends whether you're an investor or trader.

As the former I wouldn't go near the markets at the moment. As the latter it is heaven sent.... I think!! lol

Comment from Credit Suisse on the Yen demand:
"The main immediate observations we would make are that:
The Yen appreciated by 22% in the three months after the Kobe earthquake in part as insurance companies repatriated their foreign holdings of assets in order to pay for the earthquake losses.

We believe that this time around the authorities would cap the strength of the Yen. Indeed, back in September the BOJ (instructed by the Ministry of Finance) intervened for the first time since 2004 to cap the strength of the Yen. More importantly, the 2 year note yield differential is consistent with a weaker Yen. Additionally, back in January 1995, the Yen was supported by the Mexican debt crisis and Germany cutting rates. The Yen actually depreciated against the Swiss Franc in Q1 1995 showing that there was a general environment of dollar weakness. Our FX team forecasts USD/JPY 89 by year-end.

There's a 3 or 4 year USD/JPY downtrend which is still intact (currently about 85.50). It's a bit presumptuous of Credit Suisse to be setting upside targets which are above the downtrend until such time as that trend has been broken.

Did they do a lucky dip or something to get that number?

DOW opened 251 points down. your short going well cyners.,.

as mentioned earlier, it was closed out last night at b/e (10975) ..... sod's law though it was only a small position

so we come to the end of a very hairy-scary day which threatened, but fortunately did not deliver, to be armageddon or close to it

Mid-morning when I looked DOW futures were approx -17. Now down 137!!! Another grim afternoon?

never a dull i'm afraid ...... latest collapse probably due to ....

14:42, Wednesday 16 March 2011
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union banks must disclose sovereign debt holdings on both their trading and banking books as part of stress tests, EU leaders will say at a summit on March 24-25, according to draft conclusions.

"Banks (Euronext: SBK.NX - news) ' disclosure will be enhanced, including on sovereign debt holdings on the trading and banking book," read the draft conclusions, obtained by Reuters.

"Member states will prepare, ahead of the publication of the results, specific and ambitious strategies for the restructuring of vulnerable institutions, including private sector solutions (direct financing to the market or asset sales) but also solid framework for the provision of government support in case of need," the document reads.

The aim of the stress tests is to restore confidence in the region's banking sector after last year's health check was widely criticised for lack of transparency and credibility.

Only seven banks failed last year's tests and needed to raise just 3.5 billion euros, far less than expected. All of Ireland (Berlin: IIK.BE - news) 's banks passed, yet months later Dublin needed an 85 billion euro bailout and all its lenders had to be rescued.

Stocks deepened modest losses on Wednesday after Guenther Oettinger, the European Union's commissioner for energy, told a European Parliament committee that a nuclear power plant in Japan is "effectively out of control," and that the situation could continue to deteriorate.

"In the coming hours there could be further catastrophic events which could pose a threat to the lives of people on the island," he said.

ah .... thanks irlee; that's much more likely ...... very very dangerous markets at the moment and is becoming or even has become a case of "see a respectable profit? bank it"

Have a read here for the latest.

What happens if you can't see one cynic ....?

lol