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

cynic - my last trade was a DOW long on US GDP and closed @13:55.

The building sector may get another fillip on Monday - based on the news in the Grauniad - Government orders building standards review

Building standards review is the latest in a series of government initiatives intended to stimulate activity in the economy. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian.

Regulations covering building standards, including fire safety and wheelchair access, could be torn up in a government plan to cut costs for the construction industry and boost the economy.

Cynic: Re AAPL

From what I can glean from MarketWatch.com, to answer your question above:
'Apple posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $8.67 a share, below the Thomson Reuters estimate of $8.75 a share.The results reflected slower sales of the iPhone and iPad ahead of major product revisions.

Apple also projected fiscal first-quarter earnings of $11.75 a share on revenue of $52 billion. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $15.41 a share on revenue of $55 billion.'

I do hope you're feeling a bit more like an elegant Skate this morning!

AAPL - from MarketWatch.com

A short video from a Chartist's perspective on the link below: "Apple Charts Signal Trouble Ahead"
http://live.wsj.com/video/why-there-is-trouble-ahead-for-apple-stock/B12AEA8B-2D8C-45B0-8D16-E37DEC33554C.html?link=MW_article_tbo2x2#!B12AEA8B-2D8C-45B0-8D16-E37DEC33554C

Also a useful article by Nigam Arora: "Apple reported bad earnings. The company missed estimates on almost all metrics as shown below... recommend to take partial profits at $610."

Full his full comments, click below:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bad-apple-earnings-what-to-do-now-2012-10-25?Link=obnetwork

[NB: remember to back-space to return to Moneyam: I've not set up to open in a separate window!]

Now then, what I'd like to know is: what impact will Hurricane Sandy have on the markets on Monday?

Hurricane Sandy round up.

National Hurricane Centre

Hurricane Sandy: Storm threat to key US election week

Hurricane Sandy set to make history as it aims at U.S. coast

Thanks Skinny - it will certainly play havoc with the final stages of the US election, that's for sure!

AAPL
cynic scratches bald pate! ..... there are clearly some very unclear signals being generated, perhaps because the analysts have high-flying expectations (based on what, one asks?) whereas AAPL management gives out realistic/conservative forecasts

for followers of this stock (me!), it is worth checking into money.cnn.com where you will also find a number of bullish views on this stock ..... so overall, it's a case of paying your money and taking your choice ..... my view, but then i admit i tend towards rose-tinted here, is that that AAPL remains a "hot stock", not least because it's current and forward p/e (14.3 and 11.4) are low and of course it has mountains of cash, strong following etc etc

i know it's like comparing apples (sorry!) with pickled herrings, but ASC (my pet whipping stock) has a p/e in mid 40's and that's going forward!

Banks to admit profits have been wiped out by PPI costs

Three of Britain’s biggest banks will this week admit that billions of pounds of profits have been wiped out by rising claims for mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI).

Third quarter results by Lloyds Banking Group, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are expected to show that despite advances of the past three months, the banks have been pushed in to the red by the mounting PPI scandal.

Lloyds may have to set aside as much as £2bn against PPI claims pushing its total losses to more than £6bn. Barclays has raised it provisions by £700m.

I've only just seen this.... Apple publishes statement over iPad design row

Apple has published a statement which admits that Samsung has not infringed its designs.

The electronics firm was forced to publish the statement by a UK High Court which ruled on a dispute between the two firms in July.

The ruling also means that Apple has to take out adverts in national newspapers saying that Samsung had not copied its designs.

The statement can be found by following a link from the UK home page of Apple.

oh goody goody :-(

New York Stock Exchange to remain closed today apparently - not surprisingly, with that Storm threatening!

Presumably insurers & underwriters are going to be out of favour with investors over the coming months whilst the hurricane season progresses? IC tipped Marsh (NYSE) (Marsh & McLennan LSE) the other day, but they now have big exposure to the US property market, so maybe not such a good idea!

Microsoft Unveils Latest Windows Phone 8 Seeking Gains

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) will unveil a new version of its software for smartphones today, redoubling an effort to regain market share lost to Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG)

Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)’s Lumia 920, featuring a 4.5-inch (11-centimeter) screen and an 8.7-megapixel camera, will run on Windows Phone 8. HTC Corp. (2498) will sell two devices -- the Windows Phone 8X and the 8S -- which sport a new design, better audio and a wide-angle camera. Microsoft executives are scheduled to tout new products at an event today in San Francisco.

Reuters at 17:41:
"The U.S. stock market is expected to be closed on Tuesday because of Hurricane Sandy, a source said on Monday.

The decision to close markets for a second straight day because of the storm was made during a call between industry executives and regulators, said one person who was on the call. An official announcement was expected shortly.

Every effort is being made to reopen markets on Wednesday, but a final decision has not been made yet, the source said."

certainly a pal's office in manhattan has already decided to stay closed on tuesday

AAPL
shake-up of its senior management is hardly going to apply balm to the battered sp ...... time to ponder

i'm amazed that cash dow isn't well down ..... though the markets will again be closed today, it's hard to imagine that the effects of the hurricane damage will be viewed with glee

Yes, I have it at @13,055 about -50 from Friday's close.

I agree Cynic - I had thought the markets would be well down. But then with NY closed we could see a delayed reaction later this week

I guess the one thing that is certain, is that there will be a big move one way or the other this/next week - the question is which way!!