Hello again - well, here's the second WICS for October and still the markets push upwards - so much for Williams' ability to predict events eh? Mostly, despite any particular overall market trend, October is a 'down' month, but not so far this year!

Ah well, we'll just have to wait a wee while longer and see what transpires - it's a great thing, patience.

I can well understand the sceptical tone of some of your emails during the week, what with the Dow Jones Index making all - time highs, but I'm afraid that that minor detail won't be enough to alter my overall bearish standpoint. If you look more closely at USA markets, you'll see that smaller companies (which overall had been doing incredibly well until May/June) have fallen away quite dramatically and usually these provide a very strong clue towards the coming direction of the economy. You might also have noted from the media that US 'public indebtedness' (ie the total amount owed by Joe Public) is now over $8.5 TRILLION - an almost unimaginable sum and nearly three times what economists and scientists calculate would be needed to halt the effects of global warming!

Not only that, but as mentioned last weekend, job adverts have diminished massively in number, and the quantity of unsold houses is increasing rapidly. All signs of an economy 'running on empty', for sure - oh yes, and in terms of relative purchasing power, the Dow Jones Index was worth MORE in the depths of the 1929 crash than it was on Friday! "Go figure", as my Yank brother in law is so fond of saying.

My excellent contact in the Irish Republic tells me that the other week, a major Dublin auction house offered 96 private properties for sale. How many were actually sold?... Nine. I have mentioned the massive Irish property bubble before, and that's surely a sign of a wee leak beginning to appear in it now. And if that kind of situation isn't going to spread to the UK....well, I have an old hat I don't really need, and a bottle of ketchup.....

Anyway, don't forget I'm long enough in the tooth to have seen all of this kind of thing before - and I don't mean during 1929!

Moving on, I note a financial headline during the week that suggested "Halfords Boosted by New Child Car Seat Law." Wow - there's a solid business model for you then. That effect will massively improve their profits for years and years....won't it?

I see the EU has brought out some more nanny legislation and that paying higher salaries for the same job, based only on 'length of service' seemingly is now illegal. That should create a shiver or two among Civil Service departments.

Turning to today's charts, an email during the week suggested I had never really spoken about what to do about shares or indices that have entered 'uncharted territory' - ie that have made new highs or new lows. Thanks Phil - a very good question - and indeed it's something I have never mentioned before, other than in the odd 'mentoring' email.

Without further ado then, you'll see a couple of charts below and I hope they'll be of some assistance, although equally, I trust the overall answer won't be too surprising!

Finally this weekend, thanks to Nick C. for emailing me about another Spread Bet company which he says is pretty good: www.CapitalSpreads.com. (Just remember that I take no responsibility whatever for the content of non TTEW websites.)

That's your lot for today - see you again next weekend.

All the best till then,

Ian.