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

Skinners,

I think you mean ADP, not NFP.

ADP and Jobless Claims today. NFP tomorrow. Caution on the ADP numbers also. They're unreliable at this time of year to say the least.

Btw, are you 99?

High Hils - yes - I did put both links up on the traders thread earlier - clear as mud !

On edit - the definition of today's figures "Estimated change in the number of employed people during the previous month, excluding the farming industry and government"

And of Tomorrow's "Change in the number of employed people during the previous month, excluding the farming industry"

I was referring to this post, Skinners:

skinny - 05 Jan 2012 13:17 - 7696 of 7701
Non Farm Payroll 325K consensus 176k

That's today's ADP number you've quoted.

Yes sorry, the full description is "ADP Non-Farm Employment Change". (ADP - Automatic Data Processing).

Oooooooh........red ink!!! Are you in trouble now skinny???!!! ;o)

Nah - blue does red :-)

Life was simpler when we had The Forex Thread

Today

ADP Employment Change Actual 325k vs Consensus 165k

The Employment Change released by the Automatic Data Processing, Inc is a measure of the change in the number of employed people in the US Generally speaking, a rise in this indicator has positive implications for consumer spending which stimulates economic growth. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive, or bullish for the USD, while a low reading is seen as negative, or bearish.

Continuing Jobless Claims Actual 3.6m vs 3.522m Consensus

The Counting Jobless Claims released by the US Department of Labor measure the number of individuals who are unemployed and are currently receiving unemployment benefits. It presents the strength in the labor market. A rise in this indicator has negative implications for consumer spending which discourage economic growth. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as negative, or bearish for the USD, while a low reading is seen as positive, or bullish.

Initial Jobless Claims Actual 372k vs Consensus 375k

The Initial Jobless Claims released by the US Department of Labor is a measure of the number of people filing first-time claims for state unemployment insurance. In other words, it provides a measure of strength in the labor market. A larger than expected number indicates weakness in this market which influences the strength and direction of the US economy. Generally speaking, a decreasing number should be taken as positive or bullish for the USD.

Tomorrow

Nonfarm Payrolls consensus 150k

The nonfarm payrolls released by the US Department of Labor presents the number of people on the payrolls of all non-agricultural businesses. The monthly changes in payrolls can be excessively volatile. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the USD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

Oh well - the description here is incorrect then.

hic!

Who's the Muppet now then? -):

oops..
-- A benchmark gauge of U.S. company credit risk climbed from about a two-month low on concern Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis is harming the region’s banks.

The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index of credit-default swaps, which investors use to hedge against losses on corporate debt or to speculate on creditworthiness, added 0.6 basis point to a mid-price of 118.6 basis points at 5:19 p.m. in New York, according to Markit Group Ltd. Credit- default swaps on Eastman Kodak Co. jumped to a record after a report that the imaging company may be preparing for a bankruptcy filing.

The swaps gauge, which typically rises as investor confidence deteriorates and falls as it improves, increased as much as 2.4 basis points after UniCredit SpA’s plan to sell shares stoked speculation that European financial institutions will need to raise more capital. The European Central Bank said overnight deposits from financial institutions rose to an all- time high of 453.2 billion euros ($585.7 billion) yesterday, underscoring banks’ reluctance to lend to each other.

UniCredit’s equity offering “highlighted” a need and ability to access capital for banks in Europe, Joel Levington, managing director of corporate credit at Brookfield Investment Management Inc. in New York, said in a telephone interview today. “Does that come back to haunt any financial institutions in the U.S.?”

The index reached 117.6 basis points yesterday, the lowest level since Oct. 31. 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.

Record Protection

One-year credit-default swaps tied to Kodak’s debt surged to a record, jumping 8.2 percentage points to 66.2 percent upfront, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. That means the upfront cost on a contract protecting $10 million of Kodak’s debt would be $6.62 million.

Rochester, New York-based Kodak, which lost 88 percent of its market value last year, is preparing for a bankruptcy filing this month or early February should its effort to sell patents fail, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.

--Editors: John Parry, Shannon Harrington

more of a 69 me thinks :))

Smartphones power Samsung to record Q4 profit

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world's top maker of memory chips and smartphones, reported a record quarterly profit on Friday, aided by one-off gains and best-ever sales of high-end phones.

Non Farm Payroll 200k v consensus 152k.

http://www.forexfactory.com/calendar.php?do=geteventinfo&day=2012-1-6&c=2

U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in December, the government reports. The unemployment rate falls slightly to 8.5%.

It must be re-election year!

The feeling is much better than before in the US.

Rolls-Royce car sales hit new record

Rolls-Royce said last year's sales were the highest in the marque's 107-year history, beating the previous record set in 1978 when 3,347 Rolls-Royce models were sold.