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

Don't you have to be on the register a couple of days prior to qualify for divi?

No - if you buy today, you will receive the dividend.

Do you fancy it Harry?

I would have to sell ABG (at a profit) to free up cash. But, as you know, I am always looking for good divi's. Also, is ISG likely to tank at the open (or pre-open) once it goes ex-divi? (Graph suggests it will).

Yes - me also - I'm just a bit loathed to chase it atm - I quite like the company though, and it will stay on my "dividends to buy" list.

Harry - if I knew that answer, I certainly wouldn't be posting here :-)

harry - if you want to interpret it that way, please feel free :-), but at least i put money with mouth, albeit that i did it a bit early today

Here come those crazy yanks - Bernanke speaks this evening.

Bernanke Details Evolution of Fed Policy

BOSTON -- Lessons learned during the financial crisis suggest the Federal Reserve will need to revise, but not abandon, how it approaches monetary policy in the future, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech Tuesday that refrained from commenting on the economic and interest-rate outlook.

In his remarks, the central bank chief, speaking at a conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, also said while the Fed now has a wider array of tools to pursue monetary policy and promote financial stability, there may well be times when the former power is employed against financial imbalances.

"My guess is that the current framework for monetary policy -- with innovations, no doubt, to further improve the ability of central banks to communicate with the public -- will remain the standard approach," for the Fed, Mr. Bernanke said in the text of a speech prepared for the event. He explained that the pursuit of price stability, even in the wake of the exotic actions taken by the Fed over the course of the financial crisis, has shown "demonstrated" benefits for stabilizing the economy.

cynic - Good call re apple, Dow on a flyer. Presume you will be taking profits prior to results (on apple)? If there as good as expected and you have a Dow long open it will be kerchiiinnng as well :O)

wall street suddenly roofing ..... some sort of eurozone deal apparently on the table

Germany & France agreed to hike fund...........

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-18/u-s-stocks-extend-gain-on-report-of-rescue-pact.html


France and Germany have reached agreement to boost the eurozone's rescue fund to 2tn (1.75tn) as part of a "comprehensive plan" to resolve the sovereign debt crisis, which this weekend's summit should endorse, EU diplomats said.

King Warns 'Time Is Running Out' For Economy - Sky News
The Governor of the Bank of England has warned that "time is running out" for the UK and global economy.Sir Mervyn King told bosses the "recovery in our trade position is at risk of stalling"

.

AAPL - ouch!!

Apple stuns Wall Street with rare miss, shares down over 6%

Skinny, any thoughts on ASHM? Pays 10.34p divi on 2nd Nov (current sp 320p) , but I know it has suffered recently.

Harry - not one I know much about, but I will look. One reservation (for me) is emerging market property investment - which I'm not too keen on atm.

sounds like a good one to avoid like the plague