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

Italy Sells 5.25 Billion Euros of Bonds as Demand Rises

Italy sold 5.25 billion euros of debt, including a bond with a maturity longer than 10 years for the first time in seven months, as concern eased about Italy’s ability to finance the region’s second-biggest debt.

Blood bath delayed ?

EUR French Prelim GDP q/q 0.0% v consensus 0.0% previous 0.2%

EUR French CPI m/m 0.1% v consensus 0.3% previous 0.8%

EUR German Prelim GDP q/q 0.5% v consensus 0.1% previous -0.2%

EUR French Prelim Non-Farm Payrolls q/q 0.1% consensus -0.2% previous -0.1%

DOW
having teased below the 12740 support, it is now good to see cash indication back above that
watch this level, and if you feel so inclined, dabble long but not too aggressively

cynic, hmmmm have to say i'm expecting a big drop literally from here.

JPM guys probably cashed in more than the $2bln lost over the last three days. Hummm
They most likely start going long..

JPMorgan’s Trades Probed in U.S. After Loss
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-14/u-dot-s-dot-national-bank-regulator-examining-jpmorgan-s-risky-trading?

Davai - you may be right; hence my caveat ..... certinly this isn't the time to be brave in either direction as all too easy to be expensively wrong-footed

Wont repost all my workings on here as i print them on my thread, but am currently long on the Loonie (as a contrary trade), expecting this to be the start of a 'C' wave short on the Dow, so quite a few points to come off yet! (imo of course!)

USD CPI m/m 0.2% v consensus 0.1% previous 0.3%

USD Core CPI m/m 0.1% v consensus 0.2% previous 0.2%

USD Core Retail Sales m/m 0.1% v consensus 0.3% previous 0.8%

USD Retail Sales m/m 0.0% v consensus 0.2% previous 0.8%

USD Empire State Manufacturing Index 17.1 v consensus 9.3 previous 6.6

Stopped out (loonie)...

*edit short Dow instead*

Greece going to new elections.

The Dow futures testing Newton's second law of motion atm!

Contrarian long @12680 :-)

As posted above - Greece calls new elections after coalition talks fail

(Reuters) - Greece will hold new elections after political leaders failed to find agreement on a coalition government on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Greek president said.

A caretaker government to lead the country to fresh polls will be appointed on Wednesday, the presidency spokesman said after party leaders held a final round of talks.

"We're heading to elections," the spokesman told reporters.

Stopped +30 @12,710.

Who do you think is going to win next time?

People do not like exit from Euro or Eurozone as many of them work in Germany and study in other European countries.

I think they will tend to think properly this time and play a more secure game.

From the link above :-

"Polls show the leftist SYRIZA party, which rejects the bailout and placed second in last week's vote, is now on course to win, a result that would give it an automatic bonus of 50 seats in the 300-seat parliament."

The people are not stupid. They want to keep Euro, permission to work in the EU, and continue receiving support in form of grants for education and universities from the EU.

from the same link:
European leaders say that they will cut off funding for Greece if it rejects the bailout agreed in March, which would mean bankruptcy and all but certain exit from the European single currency.

Currently the polls are pointing to the Syriza party winning next time. From the BBC "Polls suggest the leftist Syriza bloc, which came second in the 6 May vote and rejects all further cutbacks, could become the largest party after a new election.

Syriza wants to renegotiate the bailout package but also wants to keep Greece in the Euro."

Anything can happen..

Greek government blinks first as foreign law bondholders repaid in full
Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Greek government has made a last minute decision to pay back in full some foreign law bondholders who refused to participate in the country's debt restructuring in March. Greece is to pay €430 million ($550 million) to holders of a specific series of foreign law bonds which is due for repayment today.

The move may be seen as setting a precedent for other foreign law bonds as they become due, and is also likely to infuriate the vast majority of investors who did participate in the debt restructuring.

UK Ferrari sales somehow soar 31%