Theres not a lot of imagination or courage out there, gang. The Footsie is quite volatile, but the moves are up one day and down the next, so the effect is nothing. Really, shares are stuck.

The reason is this, in my view. Share shifters rather expect the recession to be drawing to a close. Therefore, the correct action is to buy shares. Or if youve no money left, not to sell them.

And yet nobody wants to make the first move. The recession may not be over yet. Nobody is selling much either, just in case the slump is nearly over. Result – stalemate.

We can only do one thing in this kind of static situation, gang. And that is to search
out shares with their own news to contend with. These are shares that will keep on rising if their own news is good. Or theyll fall if it isnt. And the Footsie (news) , or more accurately the Dow, has nothing to do with them.

There are not likely to be many take-overs in this climate. In fact, I cant remember the last biggie at all. In normal days, you can expect a hefty merger every few weeks or so.

Nobody is backing into shell companies either, as the usual cheap way to get onto the Stock Exchange. This is another bonanza which has dried up for share shifters.
So what can we do to make big bucks? Not just a few pounds, but big bucks. Well, were back into heavy risk-taking again. One of my favourite ploys in a static market is to look for a winning share on the day. I assume, sometimes wrongly admittedly, that its path north will continue for the next two days as the news sinks in.

So I buy into a daily winner at about 11 am (shown on Sharecrazy.com). I hope the shares will rise nicely as the day moves on and that this will continue towards the end of the week. I then sell on Monday, say, or earlier, if the share shows signs of weakness.

Some people have criticised this strategy as being too optimistic to be based on reality. Theyre entitled to that opinion. But I have to say: it sometimes works for me. Rock on.