The market's mood is that the economic outlook is probably going to continue to muddle through; that we've been through the worst that we're going to go through on the oil price, and equity markets are not that expensive,

It's reasonable to assume that equity markets will make money this year. There's nothing like the end of an interest-rate cycle to get investors' juices flowing.

To keep the spending momentum going beyond the holiday period I think shops are going to have to discount quite heavily so I would sell the retailers into the current rally.

The market is only trading on about 13 times this year's earnings, which is hardly suggestive of irrational euphoria, and growth is still coming in quite strongly. I think there's an expectation that there will be further bid activity during the year.

It's a great day for photos, which many of them will take for their sponsors.

I don't think there is a huge amount of news content in the strikes. The news would be if they stirred up a major hornets' nest of political controversy or if there was an unacceptable amount of damage.