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

USD Core Retail Sales m/m 1.1% consensus 0.6% previous 1.0%

USD Retail Sales m/m 1.1% consensus 0.7% previous 1.2%

All rather lack-lustre in the USA:

'Equities pared opening highs as investors stayed cautious about Europe. They were waiting for Spain to formally request a bailout, seen as a necessary step for dealing with the region's debt crisis.

"The market is in a wait-and-see approach, wanting resolution with Europe, and that's why even with positive results in earnings and data, you're still not seeing much follow-through," said Matt McCormick, a money manager at Cincinnati-based Bahl & Gaynor Inc...'

.

Cynic should be feeling a little happier with the DOW this morning

"After big declines last week we have strong Citi earnings and positive European news. In the short term it takes European stress out and allows markets to focus on earnings and the U.S. consumer," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. She said the sales data is encouraging as the retail-heavy fourth quarter gets under way.

GBP CPI y/y 2.2% consensus 2.2% previous 2.5%

GBP PPI Input m/m -0.2% consensus 0.0% previous 2.0%

GBP RPI y/y 2.6% consensus 2.6% previous 2.9%

German ZEW Economic Sentiment -11.5 consensus -14.6 previous -18.2

GS tops the estimate by about 20%.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-sachs-reports-third-quarter-113500002.html

Its share price may go down initially and then jump. Exactly like JPM and others


Both J&J and Coca cola beat expectations.

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

USD CPI m/m 0.6% consensus 0.4% previous 0.6%

Insight: Spain bank rescue signals legal battle for duped savers

O Rosal, SPAIN | Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:21am BST

(Reuters) - Dressed in orange t-shirts and blowing horns, a group of factory workers, fishermen's wives and builders gather outside their savings bank in the small Spanish mountain village of O Rosal.

They have come to demand their money back, taping up posters that read: 'Tricked by the banks. Plundered by the government' in what has become a weekly protest.

"There are people on the edge of destitution. Their savings are all they have," says 60-year-old retired factory worker Argimiro Martinez, a customer of NovaGaliciaBank (NGB) since he was 7 years old and one of the protest organizers.

Interesting article Skinny! I expect there'll be quite a few protests on Thursday-Friday

meanwhile my dow position looking much healthier :-)

Thought you'd be a happy boy again today :)

it's actually back in the money, though not by much ...... evene AAPL is starting to recover a bit of sparkle ...... i think their numbers are out tomorrow

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rubbish as usual
GOOG out tomorrow (i hold those too) and AAPL next Thursday

It was worth the wait then... have you seen INTEL results? Have they come out yet, or will that be later?

I've got to dash out in a mo'

After the market - All Eyes on Intel as Tech Earnings Kick Off Amid Investor Gloom

Thanks Skinny

Not exactly anymore. Intel is not as important nowadays.

GBP Claimant Count Change -4.0k consensus -0.2K previous -15.0K

GBP MPC Meeting Minutes 0-0-9 consensus 0-0-9 previous 0-0-9

GBP Unemployment Rate 7.9% consensus 8.1% previous 8.1%

GBP Average Earnings Index 3m/y 1.7% consensus 1.6% previous 1.5%

Ahoj: Intel on its own may not be as important these days, but:

'The tech sector is closely monitored as it is viewed as a proxy for business spending.
On Wednesday, Intel shares fell 2.5 percent to $21.79 in premarket while IBM lost 3.3 percent to $204. Both firms are Dow components.' [Reuters]

There'll be some economic news from the US at 13:30 today I think - Housing Starts and Building Permits.

I've just been filled on a FTSE short that's been in for a week @5,602 - I'm not sure that's such a smart move given the BP news.