#Brent #Dax My other half’s addiction to Temu remains in place, thankfully for the most instance harmless as things only go wrong when she buys electrical goods. She was delighted, when my Saturday fishing for trout was cancelled as it meant I could install two spotlights in the kitchen, along with build three shelving units. The spotlights should have been easy but goods from China can suffer terrible quality control issues. As a result, rather than wiring them into the lighting circuit, it made sense to stick a three pin plug on them. One worked, the other didn’t! After another hour or so, a decision to look inside a little white box on the lights wiring revealed one of the 220 volt wires was attached to nothing, only a shake in the wrong direction being able to create a short circuit.
While being personal guilty of being a bit cavalier with safety, this was a particularly big sin. Standard practice with electrics always includes a method to hold wires in place. This 220 to 12v transformer for the kitchen lights had absolutely no method which would stop wires puling out. Even tying a knot on the cable would serve but, as everyone knows, even a UK 3 pin plug has a plastic bar which two screws hold in place, restricting movements of wires. The “working” lamp from China equally had no restraint on the cables, this one thankfully having the wires soldered in place. Being paranoid, the wires were tied in a knot, ensuring they couldn’t be accidentally pulled from the transformer. While it is tempting to just shrug and blame it on quality control, somewhere in China is a production line making garbage which doesn’t meet basic UK electrical safety regulations, rules of best practice which are being ignored, very real fire risks allowed into the UK.
However, my real wrath should be directed at the genius in China who designed the shelf units. At first glance, the steel framed product was truly clever, the simple act of attaching together a single corned making it immediately apparent real thought had gone into the (screw and bolt free) design. A short while later, it became clear there was only one little flaw. When it came to assembly, human beings are only blessed with two arms and ten fingers. This particular product needed 32 points of contact simultaneously slid together to create the outer frame of the book shelf’s. Not even IKEA, in their wildest dreams, could create something as utterly frustrating. By around 1am on Sunday morning, my arc welding kit was in action, all 8 corners of the cube welded together one by one, obviously removing the need for the 4 locator pins at each corner and doubtless making a curious light show in the sky above the back garden.
Maybe China assumes everyone in the UK keeps a welding plant handy, just in case! To be fair, the steel framed book case looks great, now all the welds have been flattened by a grinder…
All things considered, I wish I’d gone fishing on Saturday. While abhorring the “sport”, as long as fishermen intend eat their catch, a palate which really enjoys trout will always justify wasting hours on an open boat, inevitably talking about the things we intend doing once we get out of the sodding wooden row boat. While detesting fishing, my oldest friend loves it which means I package away my hatred when he visits. His other “thing”, football, is a line I’ve always refused to cross, feeling the game to be utterly pointless. He once played for Manchester United (or City) and refrains from talking about football when we’re together. I also do not talk about motorcycles or skiing but beyond these taboo subjects, there is plenty to discuss. Such as quality control in China.
We’d to cancel the day fishing, because his daughter had an unexpected job and he’d to babysit her Corgi puppy. Due to him famously once taking MY dog for a walk and coming back with a different dog, he has a ban-for-life of taking dogs out. Instead, he was consigned to playing with Charlie (the Corgi) in his garden and not letting the animal out of his sight. Genuinely, he once took my black mongrel for a walk, returning from the park with a different black dog. Everything got sorted out eventually but it provided an indelible mark against his character as apparently there was a football match in the park.
And this brings us to Natwest, the “catch and release share” of UK banks. It was supposed to be doing quite well, the original clown bank outperforming both Lloyds and Barclays following the market crash of 2009. But since the start of July this year, the share price has been doing stupid stuff, visually the victim of a conspiracy theory attempt to slow down the rate of climb. Obviously, such a concept is daft but share price movements since the start of July certainly are a little questionable when viewed in conjunction with the Blue downtrend since 2007.
Just look at the chart below for an explanation of our incredulity. The share price broke below our trend break level of 487p (Flagged in Red) and with what looks like panic, the FTSE opted to correct the drop the next day. It felt like the market was happy for Natwest to go down, just “not that far” down and perhaps the Blue downtrend shall remain following the rules?
Who knows, we make up “the rules” in an effort to understand just what the market is playing at. But if we’re right, this is a probable indication the market may not wish for Natwest to back itself into oblivion but instead, quite literally slow down its rate of recovery while the lesser banks catch up! It’s a theory, or perhaps wishful thinking.
Should our outlandish theory prove correct, above 502p should now prove interesting, providing a scenario which allows for movement to an initial 530p with our secondary, if beaten, an amazing 554p which would make a lot of sense. We’ve a historical argument favouring 557 as a major point of interest for this share price and we’d cheerfully welcome 554p as achieving such a near 20 year old target level. It would at least confirm a very complex line in the sand was correct.
If Natwest intends to continue to confound us, below 484 risks creating a problem with an initial drop target at 460 with our secondary, if shattered, down at 434p and a potential strong bounce.
FUTURES
FUTURES
| Time Issued | Market | Price At Issue | Short Entry | Fast Exit | Slow Exit | Stop | Long Entry | Fast Exit | Slow Exit | Stop |
| 1:06:20AM | BRENT | 6857.7 | 6851 | 6773 | 6694 | 6905 | 6980 | 6993 | 7084 | 6900 |
| 8:50:48PM | GOLD | 3349.27 | ||||||||
| 9:03:21PM | FTSE | 8977.6 | ||||||||
| 9:05:39PM | STOX50 | 5339.2 | ||||||||
| 9:29:56PM | GERMANY | 24197 | 24167 | 24054 | 23908 | 24247 | 24322 | 24367 | 24434 | 24250 |
| 10:53:38PM | US500 | 6299.3 | ||||||||
| 10:56:10PM | DOW | 44338.1 | ||||||||
| 10:59:02PM | NASDAQ | 23083 | ||||||||
| 11:00:45PM | JAPAN | 39920 |
18/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8992 points. Change of 0.22%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 4,769,021,038 a change of 5.9%
17/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8972 points. Change of 0.52%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 4,503,178,257 a change of -5.51%
16/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8926 points. Change of -0.13%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 4,765,608,248 a change of -10.27%
15/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8938 points. Change of -0.67%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 5,311,247,266 a change of 37.8%
14/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8998 points. Change of 0.64%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 3,854,245,348 a change of -14.23%
11/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8941 points. Change of -0.38%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 4,493,815,888 a change of -13.23%
10/07/2025 FTSE Closed at 8975 points. Change of 1.22%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 5,178,779,712 a change of 11.73% 
SUCCESS above means both FAST & SLOW targets were met. ‘CESS means just the FAST target met and probably the next time it is exceeded, movement to the SLOW target shall commence.
Our commentary is in two sections. Immediately below are today’s updated comments. If our commentary remains valid, the share can be found in the bottom section which has a RED heading. Hopefully, this will mean you no longer need to flip back through previous reports. HYPERLINKS DISABLED IN THIS VERSION
Please remember, all prices are mid-price (halfway between the Buy and Sell). When we refer to a price CLOSING above a specific level, we are viewing the point where we can regard a trend as changing. Otherwise, we are simply speculating on near term trading targets. Our website is www.trendsandtargets.com.
UPDATE. We often give an initial and a secondary price. If the initial is exceeded, we still expect it to fall back but the next time the initial is bettered, the price should continue to the secondary. The converse it true with price drops.
We can be contacted at info@trendsandtargets.com. Spam filters set to maximum so only legit emails get through…
Section One – Outlook Updated Today. Click here for Section Two – Outlook Remains Valid shares
Click Epic to jump to share: LSE:ASC Asos** **LSE:AV. Aviva** **LSE:BBY BALFOUR BEATTY** **LSE:CCL Carnival** **LSE:EXPN Experian** **LSE:IAG British Airways** **LSE:IPF International Personal Finance** **LSE:MRO Melrose** **LSE:OPG OPG Power Ventures** **LSE:RKH Rockhopper** **LSE:SMT Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust** **LSE:TERN Tern Plc** **LSE:TSCO Tesco** **
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Updated charts published on : Asos, Aviva, BALFOUR BEATTY, Carnival, Experian, British Airways, International Personal Finance, Melrose, OPG Power Ventures, Rockhopper, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, Tern Plc, Tesco,
LSE:ASC Asos. Close Mid-Price: 337.5 Percentage Change: + 6.13% Day High: 344.5 Day Low: 320.5
In the event of Asos enjoying further trades beyond 344.5, the share shou ……..
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View Previous Asos & Big Picture ***
LSE:AV. Aviva. Close Mid-Price: 637.4 Percentage Change: + 0.35% Day High: 638 Day Low: 632.8
Target met. In the event of Aviva enjoying further trades beyond 638, the ……..
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View Previous Aviva & Big Picture ***
LSE:BBY BALFOUR BEATTY. Close Mid-Price: 535.5 Percentage Change: + 1.61% Day High: 537 Day Low: 526.5
Continued trades against BBY with a mid-price ABOVE 537 should improve th ……..
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View Previous BALFOUR BEATTY & Big Picture ***
LSE:CCL Carnival. Close Mid-Price: 2000 Percentage Change: + 0.65% Day High: 2023 Day Low: 1992.5
Further movement against Carnival ABOVE 2023 should improve acceleration ……..
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View Previous Carnival & Big Picture ***
LSE:EXPN Experian. Close Mid-Price: 4088 Percentage Change: + 0.71% Day High: 4101 Day Low: 4077
In the event of Experian enjoying further trades beyond 4101, the share s ……..
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View Previous Experian & Big Picture ***
LSE:IAG British Airways Close Mid-Price: 380.4 Percentage Change: -0.94% Day High: 386.6 Day Low: 378.8
All British Airways needs are mid-price trades ABOVE 386.6 to improve ac ……..
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View Previous British Airways & Big Picture ***
LSE:IPF International Personal Finance. Close Mid-Price: 178.8 Percentage Change: + 0.00% Day High: 179.4 Day Low: 178.4
Further movement against International Personal Finance ABOVE 179.4 shoul ……..
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View Previous International Personal Finance & Big Picture ***
LSE:MRO Melrose. Close Mid-Price: 541.4 Percentage Change: + 1.01% Day High: 557.2 Day Low: 539.4
Target met. Continued trades against MRO with a mid-price ABOVE 557.2 sho ……..
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View Previous Melrose & Big Picture ***
LSE:OPG OPG Power Ventures. Close Mid-Price: 8.75 Percentage Change: + 2.94% Day High: 8.85 Day Low: 8.55
Target met. Further movement against OPG Power Ventures ABOVE 8.9 should ……..
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View Previous OPG Power Ventures & Big Picture ***
LSE:RKH Rockhopper. Close Mid-Price: 65.6 Percentage Change: + 0.31% Day High: 68.8 Day Low: 65
Target met. In the event of Rockhopper enjoying further trades beyond 68. ……..
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View Previous Rockhopper & Big Picture ***
LSE:SMT Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. Close Mid-Price: 1074.5 Percentage Change: + 0.66% Day High: 1077 Day Low: 1065.5
Continued trades against SMT with a mid-price ABOVE 1077 should improve t ……..
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View Previous Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust & Big Picture ***
LSE:TERN Tern Plc Close Mid-Price: 1 Percentage Change: -4.76% Day High: 1.05 Day Low: 1
Target met. If Tern Plc experiences continued weakness below 1p, it will ……..
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View Previous Tern Plc & Big Picture ***
LSE:TSCO Tesco. Close Mid-Price: 416.2 Percentage Change: + 0.99% Day High: 417.7 Day Low: 413.2
Target met. Further movement against Tesco ABOVE 417.7 should improve acc ……..
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View Previous Tesco & Big Picture ***