The government seems desperate to make us feel as thought they're doing something to help with cuts in VAT and also NI contributions.

The problem with these moves is that 'people just don't want to spend because they think that things are likely to get worse next year'.

This means that businesses, banks and consumers have cut spending with no respite on the horizon.

In my view the UK government has done too little too late. The signs of a credit bubble have been long apparent but ignored by officials on both sides of the Atlantic. And with every bubble comes a bust. Not only that but Gordon Brown spent like there was no tomorrow when things were going well and thus he's having to borrow billions to try and encourage us to spend.

I don't know about you but 'borrowing to spend your way out of a debt crisis' doesn't sound like good economics to me.

Anyway, back to the markets:

I think it's time to start taking a look at trading again. I've been keeping half an eye on what's been going on and it seems as though the FTSE is just going sideways for now.

But that's good news since it means that a few quick trades should be in the offing as the indices bounce around and/or trend.

I'm going to keep a close watch on Auto & parts stocks since the sector is trending quite nicely.
The Chemicals sector might be worth some scrutiny in the coming weeks.
I'm also keeping an eye on oil stocks, largely because an economist friend of mine thinks that the price of oil will remain around current levels until after Christmas.

Let me know what you think...