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

German Factory Orders m/m -1.3% consensus -0.5% previous 0.5%

USD Non-Farm Employment Change 114k consensus 114K previous 96K

USD Unemployment Rate 7.8% consensus 8.2% previous 8.1%

CAD Building Permits m/m 7.9% consensus -0.7% previous -2.3%

CAD Employment Change 52.1K consensus 11.7K previous 34.3

13870/14000 on dow is next and short-term target ...... probable pause at that level

.

Sunday Telegraph suggesting that gold will reach approx $2400/oz on the back of further QE.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/9587117/Price-of-gold-could-reach-2400oz.html

Who's further QE, did they say Ha?

AAPL
taking a beating again this afternoon, no doubt triggered by some industrial unrest in china over the w/e ..... if i were brave (foolhardy?) i would buy more at this level, as i would be very surprised if sp was not significantly higher before the figures, due i think within the next couple of weeks, and perhaps stronger again after them

in conclusion, if you do not already hold, this may be the time to have a dabble

Still watching this for a short 639.5 at the moment, another 20 and I think I might apply a position.

it's already dipped to 636.5 today, so you either missed your chance or perhaps got lucky that you did not short at that point ...... imo, a pretty brave thing to do anyway, given the recent high of 700+

AAPL
a bit more news + dates for you Shortie ....

The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is ordering up to 10 million units of the iPad Mini for the fourth quarter, according to some Asian component suppliers. Apple is reportedly going to send out invitations for the iPad Mini event on Oct. 10, with an announcement coming Oct. 17.

cynic,

Price:

The spot for circa 7 inch tablet seems to be USD 199. Apple? iPad 2 USD 399, iPod Touch 5th Gen. USD 299, and iPod Touch 4th Gen. USD 199 - Mini starting at USD 299? Easier to hold re gaming v iPad, and bigger screen but not too big re reading, browsing, and TV/Movies v iPod Touch? Interested to see what iPad and iPod Touch users buy when they replace their current Apple.

Cheers,
KidA

KidA - all gibberish to me (i'll stick to my basic b'berry!), though i know the world seems to think these products are the greatest thing since sliced bread ..... the reviews seem to be pretty positive too, despite the well-publicised gremlins

all in all, i am happy to stay with yesterday's prediction

what a beastly day again, after looking quite promising just an hour or two ago

Shortie
look as though you called AAPL right after all :-(

French Industrial Production m/m 1.5% consensus -0.2% previous 0.6%

Italian Industrial Production m/m 1.7% consensus -0.5% previous -0.2%

Cynic - One thing calling it and quite another taking a profit, as of yet I don't have an open position.

I just think the likes of Samsung and the high end Android market are able to compete with Apple. Sure the Ipad Iphone is the cream of the market but we don't all get around in sports cars do we. I think they'll see a decline in market share over the next few years. As with all computing equipment people don't buy the best or most expensive if a cheaper alternative will suffice for their needs. My son has an Android tablet which I bought him as I was fed up with him playing with my phone. £80 well spent for something for him to play games on mainly!! Classic case of he didn't need anything more expensive for what he's going to use the device for, alternatives are now at market so Apple should lose market share.

There is an argument though that Apple have a very loyal customer base, so there will always be a hard core of people who will stick to their devices no matter what. It's then just a matter of persuading the rest to change. It's a very competitive market, with Apple, Android, Windows & RIM vying for market share, but I still think that brand loyalty counts for a great deal as far as Apple is concerned.

Apple established itself as the best in the market. I think this will not change soon.
Samsung is the second best, but has jobs to do.

I was a loyal Apple fan when their ipone 3G was first on the market. iTunes updates and backups used to annoy me and was what kept me tied in, you buy your music and video on itunes and need a apple device to play them on keeping you locked in... Well not any more, Samsungs Kies when installed found itunes and converted all the files for me unlocking the ties. Just about everyone I know used to have an iphone, now there split probally 60-40 to iphone with the devide growing as people update. On tablets I know 2 people who have an ipad and over 10 with Android Tablets. Lets not forget that Car Phone Warehouse offer some great phones with a free Android Tablet which is helping drive sales. I think its about how you use your device, if you mainly go online over wi-fi sat at home on your smart phone then a bigger tablet complements the way you use technology making a free Tablet an appealing upgrade.

Shortie,

Apple iPhone and iPads are easy to use. All professionals use them due to its simplicity. That's why RIMM couldn't cope. My experience is much different. It is the quality taht speaks not being tied in or out.

Samsung is much more difficult to use. We have three iPhons and one Samsung Galaxy. We will certainly change that contract to iPhone next time to harmonize everything.

Apple has already won the market. Samsung can catch up, but it will take time.

Samsung is receiving 10% of Apple revenue regardless, so it will benefit from Apple success.

You are possibly right, but you sound as though you are an adult who has debts, outgoings and all the trappings of a tightly controlled household budget. Many Apple users are in their late teens or twenty-somethings who have quite a large disposable income and who think having (and showing that they have) the latest trendy gadget is the ultimate goal. Having a cheaper (possibly more efficient alternative) is not on their radar. In fact, just the opposite. I haven't looked to see which celebrities are currently overtly using their Apple gadgets, but I bet that is also driving the desirability for the products. I have two MA students living here and they both have Apple phones, pads & pods and are constantly looking to upgrade even though their current products are more than adequate. You can tell I am past the teen/twenty-something age!!!