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

well my ftse long @ 5790 seems to be holding for now

my dow long from 12916 is ok at the the moment too
AAPL continues to rumble though i confess i banked profit in about 40% earlier at 577.75, primarily because dow was then looking weak

Just for you, cynic...

231 Hedge Funds are long AAPL. That's a lot of soft dollars to pay for a triple analyst AAPL upgrade.

AAPL now +3%

Back in long gold @ 1749

thanks hils ..... i trade in/out of AAPL quite a lot, but intrinsically it's a very good company with an undemanding p/e

and
took my modest dow long profit at 12937 - thank you very much :-)

I'm short again FTSE - from 5801

that's quite brave of you luscious mistress ..... you may find you get a tanned arse

Maybe so

i could make a good profit selling tickets to see that.,.

little cynical smile as my dow long was stopped out - limit up! - at 12990
sorry, Luscious Mistress, but your bum must be stinging a bit .... hope not too painful ..... not doubt BB will be testing the ticket market this morning!

i note that greece has done a deal, so the temptation is to pile back in, even if only to ride the momentum ..... however, dow did NOT get back through the important 13000 level (cash dow currently 12980), so for myself, i am a little undecided

With U.S. "fiscal cliff" deadline nearing, parties still at odds

Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Monday called on President Barack Obama to detail long-term spending cuts to help solve the country's fiscal crisis, while holding firm against the income tax rate increases for the wealthy that Democrats seek.

In a further sign of tense relations between negotiators who are trying to avert a year-end "fiscal cliff" of steep tax increases and spending cuts, the White House expressed doubts that "balanced" deficit reductions can be achieved merely by limiting tax breaks and cutting spending, as Republicans propose.

Thanks for the pix Skinny!

Cynic: I resisted the obvious knee-jerk reaction to sell at a loss; I'm sitting tight currently.

BB: dream on :)

From Reuters:

'Traders were doubtful as to the sustainability of any meaningful gains.

"What we’ve averted here is the likelihood of a Greek default in the short term. I don’t think it’s taken it off the table in the long term," Michael Hewson, senior markets analyst at CMC Markets, said.

"We’re still in the broad range in European markets and I don’t think this really changes anything with respect to that ... The outlook for growth in Europe still remains fairly weak." '

buttocks clenched Luscious? :-)

:-)))

Markets not exactly roaring ahead on the news

GBP Revised GDP q/q 1.0% consensus 1.0% previous 1.0%

GBP Prelim Business Investment q/q 3.7% consensus 1.3% previous 0.9%

GBP Index of Services 3m/3m 1.3% consensus -1.0% previous 0.2%

FTSE 5807.5 gone short

Position closed at 5804.5.

FTSE 5805 gone short, increased stake