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

foolishly not ..... it is a stock i have traded successfully over recent months but completely f'd up this time ..... stupid boy :-(

Gone long GBP/USD DFT 1.59881

Here's an example of a multi-currency hedge trading system.

Check the balance and equity curves. The equity will sit below the balance for long periods of time as the system holds out of the money hedged positions and adds to the basket. Once the overall profit target has been reached, it'll close all of the trades in one hit (maybe 50 or more simultaneous open trades) to bank its profit before starting over again.

If you get the position sizes and risk right, it can be reasonably safe even if it might seem a crazy way of trading at first glance. This system has only drawn down 3.5% and made 6.4% in 3 or 4 months, so there's certainly no margin pressure.

Out at 1.59928

Nice model Hilary, I love the rick of ruin display. I prefer short durations though using 3 - 5 min charts and taking small quick profits often using oscillators and a 5% rate of change. Not the most scientific approach and does mean I have to watch the screen but it works well for me.

Samsung's Galaxy S3 beats Apple's iPhone in 3Q sales

South Korean electronics firm Samsung's Galaxy S3 has outsold Apple's iPhone 4S for the first time, becoming the world's best-selling smartphone, says research firm Strategy Analytics.

Samsung sold 18 million models, compared with Apple's 16.2 million sales, in the third quarter of 2012.

The Galaxy S3 "has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston.

No surprise there Skinny, I have the SGS2 and know lots of people that moved from iPhone to SGS3 when their contracts ended. I'll compare the new iPhone against the SGS3 next year but expect to take another Samsung deal. Would have thought Samsung tablets had made inroads against iPad also.

Shortie - similar story for me - posted mainly for info (cynic) :-)

USD Trade Balance -41.5B consensus -44.9B previous -44.2B

CAD Trade Balance 0.8B consensus -1.4B previous -1.3B

USD Unemployment Claims 355K consensus 367K previous 363K

CAD NHPI m/m 0.2% consensus 0.2% previous 0.2%

fool and money seem apposite for me in this instance!

We're doomed! McDonald's monthly sales fall for first time in nine years

For the first time since April 2003, monthly sales at McDonald’s Corp. went down instead of up, falling 1.8% in October at stores open more than a year.

The fast-food giant known for innovating its way through the recession while competitors lagged has lately lost some of its momentum. Last month, the company said its profit for the third quarter tumbled nearly 4% amid a stronger dollar and brutal U.S. competition after sliding 4.5% in the prior quarter.

In October, sales were down across the world. Revenue tanked 2.2% in both the U.S. and in Europe while slipping 2.4% in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.

The poor figures “reflect the pervasive challenges of today’s global marketplace,” said Don Thompson, who became chief executive in July.

or perhaps the public is waking up to what a really rather nasty product it actually is!

http://money.howstuffworks.com/mcdonalds.htm Their really in the Real Estate business anyway.

Hmm, it's looking like that 5%+ 'correction' is well on its way... I've taken to shorting the DAX today for a change

CNY CPI y/y 1.7% consensus 1.9% previous 1.9%

China inflation rate dips to 1.7%

China's inflation rate dipped further in October, giving more room to policymakers to implement stimulus measures to spur growth.

Consumer prices rose 1.7% from a year earlier, the slowest pace since January 2010.

China congress: Hu Jintao says reforms to deepen

China's President Hu Jintao has said the country will deepen its economic reforms and boost domestic demand to spur a new wave of growth.

Opening the Communist Party congress, Mr Hu added that China needed to work towards a more "market-based" exchange rate for the yuan.

China has been trying to boost domestic consumption to offset a decline in exports.

Shortie - 07 Nov 2012 15:53 - 9466 of 9503
Thanks Skinny, so as the chart shows today the DOW is testing 13020 support after yesterday testing and falling back against 13280 resistance. If the current support breaks I see next support at 12760 being the mid point of the July range, how much support will be at this range is another question. Also note the DMA crosses, 20DMA is about to cross down the DMA100 confirming the downtrend, a close below 13000 the phychological level should see a fall to 12760 support. IMO anyway

We'll test 12760 support from the off today, indicators suggest a short play currently..

If it breaks 12540 will be next support, being the lower end of the July range...

I reckon the same , Shortie. I think we're heading back to 12540 on the DOW

That could mean the FTSE also dropping down to 5450

i also got out dow first thing and went short

http://rt16.it-finance.com/FinSpreadsFlash/showimage.phtml?id=90a701f90a59f85830250134a9d60c5c1b1d5e03981d140336451611e8a390b8&type=png

Heres the technicals if anyone can turn into a picture.... Not convinced yet to short today, anyway the above shows the next 12540 support line if your interested. Note the green diagonal line (upwards trend) plotted off end of June/July lows, causing me some concern. I'm waiting for a break below to confirm a short trade.