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 up over 600, or 5.7% since the low on the 4th Oct. We could see a little profit taking ...

what a classy woman - NOT - she looks absolutely horrible - horrid and those eyes - wonder what shes popping to make them look like that - her body is horrid - a load of muscle with false boob and various types of awful make up - is anything real about her - i feel sorry for her she is just a sad lost person

anyhows........dont agree with teh qe but done now... other stuff relevant..

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of protecting municipal debt against default is at the highest level since January even as past warning signals from derivative contracts proved unfounded.

Protection on $10 million of securities for 10 years cost as much as $245,000 this week, according to London-based data provider CMA. Thats the most since Jan. 7, three weeks after banking analyst Meredith Whitney predicted hundreds of billions of dollars of defaults in the coming year. Instead, failures plunged to $1.1 billion, a quarter of 2010s rate, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Prices of privately traded credit-default swap contracts have risen 78 percent since May 31 even after states closed a projected $32 billion in budget deficits, according to the Washington-based National Conference of State Legislatures. States and localities have also recorded seven straight quarters of year-over-year revenue growth, the U.S. Census Bureau said, while enjoying the longest stretch of rising income and falling interest rates since Bill Clintons presidency.

While states and cities are balancing budgets and slashing borrowing costs, investors are buying hedges against defaults on concern about a slowing global economy, said Peter Demirali, who manages $350 million of municipal debt at Cumberland Advisors in Mendham Township, New Jersey.

Revenues are increasing, Demirali said in a telephone interview. Theyre laying off workers and restructuring health and pension benefits. So the risk isnt really any higher, its just that risk around the globe has moved higher.

Economies Slow

U.S. gross domestic product growth may slow to 1.6 percent this year from 3 percent in 2010, while Europes expansion rate may cool to 1.7 percent from 1.8 percent, according to economists forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.

A credit-default insurance contract based on the Markit MCDX credit-default swaps index reached a record of 340 basis points in December 2008, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings. While CDS prices were rising, yields on municipal bonds had already begun plummeting to the lowest levels in at least six years, according to Bloomberg Fair Value data. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Prices of the privately traded contracts next peaked on June 30, 2010, two weeks after 10-year muni yields began a 29 percent drop lasting through early September. The 2011 high for the CDS index was in January after Whitneys appearance on CBSs 60 Minutes on Dec. 19. By mid-February, municipal debt had started an eight-month rally that pushed interest rates to the lowest levels since 1967, when Lyndon B. Johnson was president.

Default Drop

About 64 percent of municipal bankers, advisers and government officials expect the number of defaults to drop or remain the same this year compared with 2010, according to an RBC Capital Markets survey conducted at a Bond Buyer conference in Carlsbad, California last month.

Credit-default swap costs may not be a precise gauge of risk, said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for California Treasurer Bill Lockyer. The biggest borrower in the $2.9 trillion municipal market saw the price of protecting its debt for 10 years jump to 286 basis points yesterday from 247 basis points on Sept. 29, according to data from CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc.

Anyone who tried to divine the reasons for movement in municipal CDS prices is on a fools errand, Dresslar said in an e-mail. There is no rhyme or reason. Thats probably because the entire market has no basis in reality.

Ratio Increase

The rise in credit default swaps has accompanied an increase in the ratio of 10-year municipal yields to similarly maturing U.S. government-bond rates. The yields on tax-exempt debt have been at or above 100 percent of Treasuries for five straight weeks, the longest stretch since May 2009, according to Bloomberg data.

Still, investors in September added $1.9 billion to tax- exempt funds, the biggest monthly inflow since September 2010 when buyers added $2.6 billion, according to Lipper US Fund Flows. States and cities are set to issue $75 billion in the last three months of 2010, up from an earlier projection of $60 million, as issuers take advantage of plunging interest rates, Chris Mauro, a municipal-debt investment strategist for RBC Capital Markets in New York wrote in a report last month.

Yields on top-rated municipal debt maturing in 10 years reached the highest level in almost two months today following the biggest one-day increase since January.

They climbed 1 basis point to about 2.3 percent, the highest since Aug. 10, according to Bloomberg Valuation index data. The yield increased about 10 basis points yesterday, the most since Jan. 13. Before the recent rise, interest rates had fallen from about 3.5 percent on Jan. 18, the highest since Mar. 11, 2009, to 2 percent on Sept. 23.

Following are descriptions of pending sales of municipal debt:

The STATE OF WASHINGTON plans to borrow $1.29 billion in general-obligation bonds as soon as Oct. 10 with $516.7 million of the transaction in new money to help fund the Floating Bridge and Eastside Project. The remainder is to refinance debt. The state is rated AA+ by Standard & Poors, second-highest grade. JPMorgan Chase & Co. will lead a syndicate of banks on the deal. (Added Oct. 5)

NEW YORK CITY TRANSITIONAL FINANCE AUTHORITY, which finances capital projects for the most populous U.S. city, will sell $750 million of subordinate revenue debt as soon as Oct. 12 to convert variable-rate bonds into fixed-rate securities and refund debt. The authoritys subordinate debt is rated AAA, S&Ps highest grade. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is senior manager of the sale. (Added Oct. 6)

The STATE OF MICHIGAN is to borrow $138.7 million of general-obligation bonds as soon as Oct. 12. The transaction will help finance school loan programs and refund environmental program debt. The bonds are rated Aa2 by Moodys Investors Service, its third-lowest ranking. Robert W. Baird & Co. will lead the sale. (Added Oct. 5)

CHICAGO BOARD OF EDUCATION, which finances school construction for the third-largest public-education system in the U.S., will sell as soon as next week $398 million of general-obligation bonds secured with dedicated revenue. Proceeds will renovate school buildings and finance expansion. The deal is rated Aa3, Moodys fourth-highest grade. Jefferies & Co. will lead a syndicate of banks on the sale. (Added Oct. 6)

--With assistance from Michael B. Marois in Sacramento. Editors: William Glasgall, Stephen Merelman

To contact the reporters on this story: Michelle Kaske in New York at mkaske@bloomberg.net; Andrea Riquier in New York at ariquier@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net

much private f.i. chatter about this again today - banks imo would have rissen higher today if not after the qe which long term in itself is an error - boe will really struggle with various targets it is already missing right now and before today's qe - the idiots!...

A financial transaction tax proposed by the European Commission would not enhance stability, according to a leading think tank. - STONKINGLY AGREED!

In a report released on Tuesday, the Centre for European Policy Studies said that despite the FTT's political appeal from raising tax revenues, the tax fails to address the factors that contributed to the global financial crisis.

"The FTT will probably only be used as a revenue-raising tool, with no specific aims to strengthen financial stability or secure credible resolution mechanisms," the study says.

"If it becomes a reality, the proposal should not undermine the chances of more meaningful tax policy alternatives being implemented in the future," it adds.

Although the European Commission recently stated its preference for the FTT, CEPS said the tax does not fulfil a series of criteria which should be key in deciding on its introduction.

These are that the proposed policy does not "aggravate systemic risks", is "relatively hard to avoid" and should "correct the incentives to take on more leverage". The FTT does not fare well on any of these points, said the think tank.

Although the tax could help mitigate systemic risk by targeting derivatives transactions, the report found that "the FTT misses out completely on addressing the growth of leverage or amending the tax preferences for debt, which are embedded in most tax systems across the EU."

Added to this, a globally uncoordinated FTT is likely to aggravate tax avoidance and relocations, said the report. "In driving a substantial proportion of the transactions away, the tax is also likely to hamper the monitoring and enforcement capacities of the home state supervisors."

The commission initially preferred a financial activity tax which would tax "supra-normal" profits and renumeration.

interesting day for banks tomorrow again LOL!!!!

lol bm

lol ditto that! - have a good one

Quantitative easing by the Bank of England: printing more money wont work this time



Inflation, not deflation, is the problem for the United Kingdom and the Bank of England will make it worse.

whatever ..... now look for 5390/5400 - cash is currently 5320 ..... if that is broken with impetus, then BUY

gibby, look at the BARC thread. That just happens to be BM's missus, so you might want to re-evaluate! Lovely lady with an all-over suntan....drives a BMW X5....and isn't very tolerant of critics! ;o)

.

Confused now (no change there then) the only message that Merv the swerv has delivered is were totally Fxxxxd! More QE may work, we don't know but lets give it a shot anyway, surely Mr Market will see through this so how far can this rally really go? Fine for me cause it's easy money, pick a stock, golf season is over so can day trade more, just feel it will all end in tears :O) skinny post a pic of Gillian Duxbury mate :O)

Having browsed this fun thread earlier today it is interesting to see how the odd post changes during the day.

Martini - you noticed as well :-)

PRE-OPEN REPORT: Headline shares are tipped to open thirty-two to thirty-eight points higher

well well.

hc 7126 - LOL and apologies to BM!! :-)

Ironically, one of the companys (Moodys) that could be considered responsible for the sub prime fiasco has now downgraded amongst others RBS & Lloyds. Arguably, had Moodys and S&P not bestowed triple AAA ratings on billions of $$$s worth of sub prime trash we wouldn't be where we are today!

Horse bolted, stable door springs to mind.

bm another for you.... :-)

good news.... watch the banks even closer if poss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

October 07, 2011 11:21 AM Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Credit Swaps Fall on Europe Optimism
Story tools
The cost to protect the debt of Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. declined as optimism grew that Europe's leaders may be able to prevent a sovereign debt crisis from infecting bank balance sheets.

Credit-default swaps on the owner of the world's biggest retail brokerage fell 56 basis points to 474 and those on Citigroup 45 basis points to 300, the biggest one-day decline since May 2009, according to data provider CMA. Swaps on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. eased 23 basis points to 374, the data show.

Investor confidence in bank debt is rebounding as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB will resume covered-bond purchases and reintroduce year-long loans for banks. The European Commission is pushing for a coordinated capital injection for banks to shield them from the fallout of a potential Greek default.

This is a rally off the bottom that reflects a greater degree of confidence that there will be a constructive solution for the banks in Europe, said Allerton Smith, senior director of the capital markets research group at Moody's Corp. For Morgan Stanley, whose default swap levels surged as high as 650 basis points on Oct. 4, according to broker Phoenix Partners Group, market participants have come to the conclusion that the extra wide spread levels were an overreaction to some half- baked facts, Smith said.

Contracts on Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. declined 52 basis points to 399, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. That's the biggest one-day drop on record on a closing basis, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that goes back to 2004. Contracts on General Electric Capital Corp., the financing arm of General Electric Co., fell 31 basis points to 302.

The average credit-default swap on the six biggest U.S. banks had climbed for five trading days through Oct. 4 as concern intensified that Europe's debt crisis will contaminate the global banking system and halt already slowing U.S. economic growth.

Index Falls

The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, which investors use to hedge against losses on corporate debt or to speculate on creditworthiness, declined 5.8 basis points to a mid-price of 139.3 as of 5:01 p.m. in New York, according to index administrator Markit Group Ltd. The index, which typically falls as investor confidence improves and rises as it deteriorates, reached as high as 154.1 on Oct. 4.

Bonds of New York-based Morgan Stanley have dropped since August and the cost to protect its debt has surged amid concern that sovereign defaults would spread to U.S. banks.

Both capital and liquidity nearly doubled from pre-crisis levels and should be sufficient to manage through current market conditions, CreditSights analysts led by David Hendler in New York wrote in a report yesterday. The market reaction was mainly due to undue perceptions of its exposure to European sovereigns and banks, they wrote.

Credit swaps pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.