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

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I wonder what pearls Merv the swerve will cast this evening as he enters the home straight.

King says euro zone threatens slow UK recovery

LONDON | Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:53pm BST

(Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mervyn King gave his trademark downbeat assessment of the British and world economy on Thursday in his first live television interview after nearly 10 years in office, and warned the euro zone could yet fall apart.

Four years after the start of the financial crisis, King said it would be a long while before the economy returned to normal - and the most important task for Britain was now to reform bank regulation to reduce the chances of a future crisis.

"We're beginning to see a few signs now of a slow recovery, but it will be a slow recovery. After a banking crisis one can't expect to get back to normal and I fear it will take a long time," he told Channel 4 News.

Some progress on Greek debt deal, gaps remain

ATHENS | Fri Sep 21, 2012 1:08am BST

(Reuters) - Negotiators discussing Greece's bailout came closer to an accord in late night talks on Thursday but are still short of a final deal over some 11.5 billion euros (9.1 billion pounds) of spending cuts demanded by international creditors, officials said after talks concluded.

The European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank "troika" team visiting Athens has rejected some of the measures proposed by the Greek government, holding up final agreement on unlocking the next instalment of Greece's 31.5 billion-euro bailout package.

A senior official said the late night talks secured agreement on several points including the symbolically important step of raising the pension age to 67 years. He said further advances were likely when talks resume on Friday.

"There was some progress, a funding gap remains but there are novel ideas as to how it can be covered," the official told reporters waiting at the finance ministry.

He said an agreement at the technical level might come as soon as Friday after which the troika leaders could leave to prepare their report.

GBP Public Sector Net Borrowing 12.4B consensus 13.2B previous -1.9B

Thanks for all the updates Skinny!

Your welcome.

German Ifo Business Climate 101.4 consensus 102.6 previous 102.3

I'm actually in Germany currently. The view here seems to be that the global economy is deteriorating but they see the Euro zone as 'being in limbo' for the next two months or so, while they see how all the recent actions/promises will pan out.

There is also concern here of the US 'fiscal cliff' and how that may affect the markets.

Business confidence seems to be being described as dipping rather more than the above, official figures (in Skinny's post) would suggest

Toya - Hi, what date is the US 'fiscal cliff' ? sounds scary.

Hi Chris - January I think is the deadline: "batch of tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to take effect in 2013 if Congress doesn't act soon". Of course, the thinking is that whoever ends up in government, will find a way around it...

One has to admire the American Optimism!

A bit more on the fiscal cliff:
"Beginning next year, we are going to face a twofold challenge. First of all, the Bush tax cuts are set to expire, which may result in higher taxes for all the taxpayers. And second, we'll hit again the debt ceiling. Now, following the debacle of 2011, Congress is setting to delay some of automatic and fairly draconian reductions in federal spending that will follow. So at the time, we may face both the tax increase and deeper spending cuts, and that in a nutshell is the fiscal cliff we may face in early 2013."

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/us-could-be-heading-fiscal-cliff-2013

Thanks for that Toya.

Thanks for the info Toya.

You're welcome - good luck with your trading!

Special Report - Inside Mario Draghi's euro rescue plan

FRANKFURT/BERLIN | Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:16am BST

(Reuters) - On a warm summer day on the eve of the Olympic Games, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi stood up at a business conference in London and dropped a bombshell.

"Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro," Draghi told the audience in Lancaster House, a grand building in central London, then paused for effect. "And believe me, it will be enough."

U.S. consumer confidence rose strongly in September to its highest reading since February.

The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence rose nine points to 70.3 this month, from a revised 61.3 in August, first reported as 60.6.

The latest index is far better than the 65.0 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Interesting read, Skinny - thanks.

Did you see this comment today, from Reuters? "U.S. stocks gave up early gains and edged slightly lower on Tuesday after major U.S asset manager BlackRock said the strong equity rally this year has run its course."

I guess all these comments will just make for more volatility - which is great if one can spend time watching the twists and turns of the DOW...

So that's how they are going to do it!

Spain to seek bailout if yields too high for too long

MADRID | Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:09am BST

(Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday said he was ready to seek a new rescue package for his troubled country but only if its debt financing costs remain too high for too long.

Investors have been jittery that Spain's apparent reluctance to seek a bailout - a condition for European Central Bank action to cut the country's borrowing costs - could propel the euro zone into even deeper trouble.

Rajoy had said previously that a reduction in Spanish bond yields after the announcement of a bold bond-buying plan by the ECB could allow Spain to put off seeking further support.

have taken the precaution of banking some profits