Nearly the end of October and still the major markets keep climbing - nothing really for Williams to add to earlier remarks other than to repeat the rhyme delivered by Mr Sinatra many years ago: "The higher the top, the bigger the drop...."

It was interesting to note during the week that allegedly, US 'housing starts' - ie constructing the foundations of new houses - actually increased during September, seemingly giving the lie to the idea that the American property market is in the early stages of a major decline. Nonetheless, US banks are foreclosing on mortgages at an ever increasing rate, and many properties, particularly at the 'expensive end' are becoming much less expensive by the day, with increasing numbers of potential sellers now well and truly stuck with their inflated mortgages.

In the UK, I note that the Pru - bless 'em - are 'unhappy' regarding the level of personal bankruptcies and IVAs that are seemingly denying them full repayment of many personal loans and credit card balances - yet at the same time they're bemoaning the fact that 'consumers seem to be borrowing less and less'! Perhaps somebody needs to point out to them that they can't have their egg and eat it too.....

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says that retail sales fell in September compared to the same month last year - which hides the fact that they are still up over the year, and that prices have risen by 0.6% compared with September 2005.

UK jobless numbers are at a five year high, and according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA) overall consumer borrowing has dropped by £1.4bn - that sounds like a lot but in relation to Joe Public's overall indebtedness it's pocket change of course.

What am I getting at in highlighting the above snippets - along with all those mentioned in earlier issues of my ramblings? - Just that 'change' doesn't always jump up and slap us in the face. Sometimes (possibly most of the time) 'change' happens so gradually that we hardly notice unless we're actively watching for it - as we should be doing if we seek to become competent financial traders.

It's a bit like watching your lawn grow I guess - 'all of a sudden' it needs cutting!

'All of a sudden', in exactly the same way, we'll soon enough see overall market sentiment alter markedly and the current euphoria will be replaced by pessimism and general malaise - just don't say you weren't well warned to keep your eyes well and truly open for selling opportunities! For the moment, 'patience' is most assuredly the characteristic at the very top of the successful trader's psychological makeup - last weekend I highlighted some of the 'TTEW watch list' shares that have been doing very well to the upside and received a rash of emails asking if it was 'too late' to jump in and buy them. Guess what my reply was?? Just a hint - I don't give tips, and I use the TTEW methodology myself....because overall, it works just fine!

Markets, as measured by the likes of the FTSE 100 and 250 indices, have every chance of continuing upwards for another few weeks - the balance of probability meantime favours that - and the Dow over the water is also likely to continue to make fresh highs for a wee while yet. But let's not forget the FTSE AIM chart we looked at last weekend, nor the fact that both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in the USA are nowhere near 'new highs' - this current euphoria is not as broadly based as commentators on the likes of Bloomberg might like us to believe. No, "The times, they are a'changin" - to quote Mr Zimmerman....and nothing could be more true than his words right at the moment!

Moving along, I note that before being permitted to accept an ex gratia payment from Inequitable Life, victims have to sign a 'gagging order' - but surely they would have gagged enough already - when they learned how little they might be paid?

And the media seems to think that Warren Buffet is a nice charitable guy (which he indeed seems to be, as witness his joint charitable venture with Bill and Melinda Gates) because he has 'allowed Lloyds Names to sleep easily' by reinsuring their potential long term liabilities for a one - off premium of a mere £398m.

I doubt very much if Mr Buffet's motivation behind the deal was to allow a load of greedy, stupid people to 'sleep at night' - his decision would have been an entirely commercial one - he is well able to take personal responsibility for HIS risks - a shining example to us all quite frankly.

Anyway, to continue.....it appears that travel agents are deserting ABTA and ATOL because of the costs involved in obtaining 'bonding' - the process whereby if your agent goes bust while you're on holiday (or after you have paid them) you have some safeguards as regards getting a flight home/recompense etc. Stranded in Ulaan Bator? Tough luck. But again, that too is a sign of the economic changes that are brewing - just as 'low cost airlines' soon enough will become a thing of the past. You heard it here first.

Moving on to today's charts then, I don't usually highlight anything with very little history behind it, but today I'll make an exception in the case of SThree Plc. (Why don't I 'usually highlight....' etc? ...Because there's little history behind such charts.) Then we'll look again at triangles, on the chart of RPS - 'when is a triangle not a triangle....?' - just to try to answer the essentially unanswerable. Why do I say 'unanswerable'? Simply because (as highlighted often enough!) trading is every bit as much an art as a science - I trade what I SEE - and YOU might well see something different! Does that make YOU wrong and ME right? Not at all - there may be a little more experience at this end but YOU need also to see what YOU see, and act (or not) on that information.

Anyway, that's plenty for this weekend - I'm heading off shortly to do something I haven't done in over 20 years - he said mysteriously. (It involves motor vehicles but that's all you'll get out of me!)

If I survive, I'll speak to you again next weekend, so all the best until then.

Ian.