Yes, the earliest sighting of Christmas yet!
Thanks to Richard for this from Birmingham Airport:

"See Santa this year with Transun!"
Given we're in recession I expect to see an awful lot of early sightings! Any other early sightings welcome!
I had a massive "heath and safety" row with Starbucks yesterday, I'll save that story for the next update!
So now back in time before the trip to Ireland and my lunch at posh celeb restaurant Nobu.
I had a very entertaining lunch with Shed Simove and his manager, the brilliantly named Yaser Martini.
We met up at the famous restaurant where people like Posh Spice go to to get their pic taken.
It was pretty quiet when we went for lunch, Easter Thursday although Ulrika Johnson was opposite! Shed was responsible for getting her on Celeb Big Brother (he is a producer) but decided to not to make himself known.
Shed is always fun to be with. He's lively, crazy (in a good way) and just full of life.

His book "Ideas Man" will tell you all you need to know about him, so type Ideas Man into amazon and you'll find out all about him and his book.
And ideas man is what he is. He's full of them - but unlike most people actually does something about it and has had lots of his ideas made into products. In fact if you bought a small fun gift for someone it could be his idea behind it.
He's forever selling products and ideas to companies - my favourite is his remote control for kids.

He also invented some naughty sweets which whichever way I think I could put it probably aren't suitable for a family website! He's also a comedian and after dinner speaker - I suspect he'll be very famous indeed within the next year or two.
What's really interesting about Shed is it's not money that motivates him - it's the challenge of thinking up an idea, then making it and then selling it. His greatest pleasure is to visit a store and see his products on the shelves.
Shed struck unlucky at Nobu ordering a vile salad which had three different kinds of what appeared to be seaweed. I ate a bit and nearly heaved.
Yaser gamely managed one mouthful. But our black cod was good and I also greedily scoffed an excellent port belly. Prices aren't as bad as you'd imagine and you could go there and not spend too much. Puddings were good too.
Shed's manager Yaser meanwhile is the brains behind Have Lunch With your neighbours day on July 19th see www.thebiglunch.com. Nice idea.
Anyway Shed thanks for the treat - always busy he was already off for a meeting with a company about a new product - he had about two cases full of new stuff with him!

There was a large furry pom pom hanging out of one of the cases and I dread to think what was in it!

I'm sure he got the deal...
And if you shortly see a new breakfast cereal "Credit Crunch" on the shelves, that's Shed!
If you buy Shed's book "Ideas Man", enjoy, it's a good read! Oh and by the way I plugged his book because I wanted to and he deserves it, he never asked!
Getting back "into the groove" after the Ireland break/Easter. Easter really is great, a real break unlike Christmas which is often a bit stressful.
Christopher gets more and more fun and it's a real pleasure to be his daddy! He had some bad earache last night but he seems ok now,
This weekend Grandpa is coming to visit and he's also looking after Christopher on Sunday when we do a three hour dancing course!
I'm complete rubbish and just hope I don't step on anyone's toes... more on that next week along with 'ealth and safety row.
Thanks for all the lovely feedback about the last seminar, I'm blushing. I would print them all but I think it would possibly look a bit sick if you know what I mean but I print one today.
Usually I wouldn't do another seminar till the end of June but I've added an extra May seminar his year as there seems a lot of interest - so it is only 5 weeks away - on Friday May 15th and booking is now open.

It's filling up fast and at this rate will be sold out beforehand like the last one.

Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com for details with "Seminar interested" in the subject line if you're interested in coming along. There is a decent early booking discount available - but that discount is about to disappear. Get it while you can!

It's designed for beginners, dabblers and improvers and deals with everything from how to look for winners, how to research, spreadbetting, level 2 use how to time trades and short, how to use advfn properly and run your portfolio without having to spend money on systems and tipsters.. and tons more.

A lot of the day comes directly from the live markets and I show you many of the tricks I use to get good prices live. And there might even be the odd live trade or 2!

There is more detail on the seminar below.
Thanks for the great spreadbetting stories - winning and losing stories for my upcoming spreadbetting book welcome at.. thenakedtrader@aol.com (spread stories ONLY to this address please!! -please use my normal address for anything else).

Did you lose spreadbetting? Why and what happened? Or have you found it easy and you're a winner? Tell me! Anyone whose story I use gets a free copy.

Hurrah! Spreadbetting firm Tradefair (Betfair's sister) has upped its offer exclusively to Naked Trader readers to a £100 credit!
I've been using them for a few weeks to check that I'm happy with the service. As you know I don't take ads or allow referrals on the site unless it's a company I've used and I feel confident about.
What I like about it is it's easy to use, spreads are surprisingly tight on the smaller companies and interestingly an automated stop loss is applied to each trade - so beginners know what their max loss is from the outset.
Anyway they now offer a £100 credit as long as you deposit £100. You get the credit after you placed 2 trades (non equity)

If you'd like to open an account with Tradefair and get the freebie and try them out e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Tradefair" in the subject line and I'll send you info on how to claim the new £100 credit.
Still with BT for your phone line? Why? Move over to Utilities Discount Warehouse under me and pay just £8.99 for your line rental, and deal with a nice company. I get commission and in return you get my e-mail - this site into your mailbox at every update!

You could also add energy, guaranteed cheaper than the top 6 suppliers and get the lot on one bill every month. Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you fancy it. Easy to do!

I'm glad to say MF Global has improved its offer to readers....
First you get a free £2 bet on the FTSE.. and secondly when you place your first bet with them they will cover the potential loss of up to £100 if the trade moves against you.
I use MF Global myself for spreadbets on the smaller companies as they have more online than anyone else and offer spreads on pretty much everything.
To take up the offer either click the MF banner you should find somewhere on this page, or cut and paste this link into your browser and you can sign up online:
http://tinyurl.com/c524ku
Terms and conditions obviously apply, check them on that link.. I think those are good offers.

Many of you enjoy the cheap advfn toplists bronze deal through me as do many of you with the cheap level 2. However many of you say you want a half-way house to include real-time share prices always on.
So I'm pleased to announce I've managed to seal a new deal with Advfn for its "Silver" service - that's always on real-time share prices for a good saving (Bronze toplists etc are included in this).
The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me for full details if you'd like it with "silver" in the subject line.
The money - real money - is already coming on from my own internet shopping site which is at www.ei42.com/nakedtrader.

In fact I've already made £1,000 - that's in a very short time and as this grows I think there could be a very good income there.

YOU can make money out of this too - by simply doing your online shopping as normal but via your site (it costs nothing) and then tell friends to open their shopping site using the link from yours - you then get commission on their buys!
Have a look at this link:

http://www.ei42.com/Nakedtrader/

So for free you can sign up and get this site for yourself.

Everytime you buy anything yourself on your site you get commission.. So if you normally shop online anyway it's a no brainer: just use your own site instead of going direct and get some commission every time you shop.
Then you just get some friends to sign up and get their own site too - when they do online shopping using their mall, you get commission too. Simple as that.
It's all explained on the site top right.. just click "Make money with your own shop find out more" and it's all explained. Or click here

http://www.ei42.com/?10850514
So you just shop away as normal - but now you earn commission - and there's also decent money off coupons too on top of that!

They've just re-published "The Zulu Principle" by Jim Slater who's written a 2008 update at the beginning.
This is a brilliant classic book. Reading this is a real pleasure and it was a great idea to republish.
Jim believes like I do the best gains can come from smaller stocks and in an easy to read style takes you through how to evaluate smaller companies that are about to become bigger ones - he uses some excellent examples.
Really this is a must read for all more longer-term investors or anyone looking to grow their money... a number of you have also written to me about this book and praising it.
Here is the link to buy it:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/167207.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Here's a very topical one: The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets by Peter Schiff.
The book is all about how to keep portfolios up in a down market. He focusses a lot on how to play commodities and win with some sensible advice especially on natural resources and precious metals. He is very much a realist and there is no rubbish here: some straight talking and some interesting strategies.
Everyone who invests should think seriously about keeping portfolios up in bad times so this book should be read.
Well worth picking up at this link:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/271958.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
To order my new book Naked Trader 2 for next day delivery click this link... or the cover of the book top right!
http://books.global-investor.com/books/27120.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
I've had heaps and heaps of praise from many of you regarding The Financial Spreadbetting book.
The book really seems to have helped a lot of you understand spreadbetting a lot more than you did. You say it's really helped you with ideas too. The writer deserves commendation. With the ability to go short so important in these volatile markets, it's a must read. To order click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23307.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Several people have asked me for a recommendation on a book which shows how to study accounts in a reasonably easy way. The one I like the most is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Robert Leach. Ten crunch questions to ask before buying any company.
It' s a decent easy-to-read book with several key chapters and it's highly recommended. It's one I keep and dip into from time to time. To order, click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
The best book on charting and easiest read on the subject is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Alistair Blair. Click here -> http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Another good one is the second edition of http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Peter Temple. Included in this one is how to use spreadbetting, CFD's warrants and trackers to reduce risk. And there are some decent trading strategies too.
This is an excellent book for new investors and also experienced ones. It explains all the things you may not be sure about in the markets and will explain the tools that are there. To order The Investors Toolbox by Peter Temple (new edition) click the following link for delivery in 24 hours... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

Fancy spending a day with me, learning all the ways I have learned over the years to find good shares and play the markets? Well, you can at one of my seminars!
Booking is still open for the next Naked Trader seminar on Friday May 15th. Price is £495 plus 15% vat. However there is a large early booking discount available!

That includes three course lunch, Starbucks coffee, parking etc. And most importantly it covers choc bars and fruit gums too.

The seminar is mainly aimed at beginners and dabblers though improvers are welcome too.
Topics covered using live market feeds all day include: Market psychology, level 2 - a simple guide to how to use it for better timing; how to value companies; finding companies that are about to rise. I will also cover techniques for handling events such as the recent meltdown and volatility.
Spreadbetting: How to use it to gain an edge and go short. Market makers - how they work and how to beat them; how to stop losing money and make it instead and plenty more.
How to plan trade entries and exits - how to research companies and understand reports, plus all those niggly questions you always wanted to ask. How to set stop losses and targets. Charts and how to use them.
Also covered: Market maker tricks: How to spot tree shakes and use them in your favour, How to tell when NOT to buy a share. I use live ADVFN all day with lots of level 2 and looks at all kind of live market data.
The idea behind the seminar is SIMPLICITY. I don't use jargon or fancy words - everything is in PLAIN ENGLISH! No question is too stupid and the event is held in a friendly relaxed and supportive environment.
The idea is you will come away from the event I hope a wise and better investor with lots of new ideas. I try and translate complex topics into easy bite size pieces. I also aim for it to be entertaining as well as instructive.
If you are interested please e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "May seminar interested" in the subject line and I will send you full details of the event including comments from those who have come to previous seminars and you can then decide whether you would like to come. See you there!

One seminar attendee Clare wanted to write a testimonial about her experiences at the seminar which follows now!
"I've just come back buzzing from one of Robbie's seminars. What a day! He's just brilliant, and manages to pack an awful lot into one day, and with his enthusiastic and humorous delivery the day just flies by. There are no gimmicks, no sell, no "˜get-rich-quick' promises, just his own solid, sound approach which he has learnt over the years and which works.
He shows you how to minimise the risks and maximise the profits and points out the banana skins on the way. Where the seminar really comes into its own is when he teaches using live level 2. Hearing him talk through his thought processes and reasoning is invaluable, and really brings home everything from the book. He has endless patience answering peoples' questions, and really seems to care that everybody understands.
On top of that, you meet some really nice like minded people and swap e mail addresses, you're plied with
chocolates and coffee all day, have a great lunch and spend the evening getting tiddled with Robbie in the
bar afterwards! You might even get to see the amazing crocodile boots . . . .

Don't worry about the cost, it's easily worth it, and you'll soon make it back with your new-found investment skills, and in what you're no longer losing. If you're thinking of going along to his next seminar, whether you're a novice or an experienced trader, don't hesitate ""just go!
Thanks Clare, did you want the tenner in cash, or will a cheque do?

Exclusive One Point Spread, £250 Cashback Offer

Still a massive response coming in for the sensational 1 point indices spread offer plus £250 cash back on losses - my mail box continues to be full of enquires - don't miss out!
I have arranged a deal with a spreadbet company that gives you just ONE POINT spreads on all the major indices and very tight spreads on everything else. A one point spread is just amazing and you can use it on the FTSE, DOW, Nikkei etc...
Not only that, I can offer those of you interested a fantastic £250 cash back on any realised spreadbet losses made within your first 8 weeks. That means you get back any losses up to £250 which could come in extremely handy.
If you'd like the details of this offer just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "£250 cashback offer" in the subject line. This really is a great offer which will have a limited lifespan so if you want it, get cracking!

. Mf Global Spreads is one of the few companies that offers spreads on smaller companies valued at just £6m or more, including AIM stocks. And you can trade them online too.
So now you CAN deal in small companies without having to actually buy the shares in the market and you can deal in them on margin if you wish.
Every naked trader reader who opens an account with them though me will get a completely free £2 a point bet on the daily FTSE on a day of your choice.
As you can imagine get it right and this free bet could be worth a few quid. The bet cannot be a loser, because if you lose, it is as if you never placed it!

And MF now also offers £100 refund on your first bet if it becomes a loser.
So here is your chance to open an account to spread bet the smaller companies - of course you can deal in the whole range of usual spread betting with them too including the bigger companies and indices bets as well.
To take up what I think is a brilliant offer, simply cut and paste this link into your browser and sign up online:

http://tinyurl.com/c524ku

I've started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit!

So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (non equity).

To get the offer, click here:

http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

Has he? He has! Gordon Brown has said "sorry".

I'm only guessing it's because a think tank/focus group reckoned it was a good idea.

Now he's started there's a very long list of things he could say sorry for. I could start the list but it would take me all day to finish so I shan't.
It's time for Jacqui Smith to quit gracefully. She's just not up to the job and becoming a laughing stock.

Have you noticed our politicians appear to have yet another three week off to go with the 3 months over the summer and 4 weeks over Xmas. And remember with expenses they're all on over £120,000. Joke!!

Why do we have to wait for months and years for simple decisions to be made. For example the perfectly sensible idea to allow cyclists to turn left at red lights, worked in Canada really well. Would save a lot of lives.

Surely an all group of MPs could just nod it through quickly? Everything takes foreever and nothing gets done.

If you're earning decent money right now make sure you earn as much as possible next year because believe me in the years after we will get taxed very heavily. No other way they think to get revenues up.

I take the opposite view and think flat taxes should come in and taxes should be REDUCED. This would stimulate the economy, bring in a lot of jobs and more would pay tax instead of avoiding it. I bet revenues would end up near the same.

However it won't happen as there is no fresh thinking coming from any party!
Gordon Ramsay's been spotted serving readyish meals to his customers in his gastropubs.

The sauces, mixes, stews get made in a cheap part of London then get sent to the posh areas the pubs are in. Makes economic sense I suppose but if he preaches everything should be made fresh in a kitchen...
However doesn't bother me exactly and I'd kind of expect if I ordered a saucy stew of some kind I would guess part of it would have been made off the premises if it was a pub.
Trouble with Ramsay is he just spread himself too thinly and got involved with too much - bound to have some effect on food quality. However I think on this occasion there isn't an awful lot wrong with making some of it elsewhere.

Another mind-boggling Apprentice

If this lot are the best the country's got then no wonder we are in the doo doo.

Noorul should have been fired even though he was on the winning team. Hopeless in every department whether selling or making decisions. He was lucky.

I think it was a shame Paula was fired instead of Ben. She came up with a good product - Ben is just a loudmouth but my guess is they reckon he will be more entertaining in future shows.

I think right now the boring ones are getting the boot. They need some entertaining hopeless ones left in.

Best moment for me was when Nick pointed out with some understated glee that they mixed up Sandlewood with Cedarwood and had paid £700 for it, not a fiver!

"I'll leave that with you then," he said gloriously before walking out.

Brilliant!

If you want to bet on sport here's the sign up link, very large free bets for newbies: To open a Sporting account click here:
http://www.sportingindex.com/?tpid=6755
Do remember if you do bet you ought to treat sports spreadbetting as entertainment - and expect to lose! Also with spreadbetting work out what your max loss could be and make sure you can afford it! In other words if you say backed the favourite at 15 for a fiver and they come nowhere your max loss is £75.

Bill writes:
Many thanks for a very informative, interesting and enjoyable Seminar. Having mentioned that I went on a seminar last year costing £2,500, I expected a lot less,

However, you carried on til 8pm showing drive and enthusiasm, proving that you don't have to be ripped off paying unecessary high fees.
Having read your book several times and now attended your seminar, I can honestly say it was well worth the time, money spent....and lunch was good and meeting other interesting colleagues.
I think anyone considering the course should book it, you should easily recoup your investment and learn some great ideas from the experience.

Thanks Bill, the fiver is in the post!

Sue writes:
I hope your voice is recovering and you are feeling better after persevering till late with your epic trading seminar last Friday.

Wow what a day that was! I can't remember the last time I went to an event where my eyes and ears were glued to the presenter for the entire day. Even the graveyard slot wasn't a problem for concentration and that is a real first! Thank you for such an educational, enlightening and inspiring seminar, for sharing your methodology, your tips and your encouragement with passion and great humour.

I found your book a real eye opener, but your seminar has since given me the confidence to take charge of my own investments and armed me with knowledge of the tools to do the job. My heart sank when I read your book and realised that I was guilty of so many of the mistake / loser scenarios in your book. I now see those mistakes as hard earned and costly lessons, but know what I must do to put them behind me so I can move forward, away from my so called advisory broker.

It feels as if I turned a corner on Friday and this is the first week of my new trading life! I wish I had more daytime hours to devote, and will work towards getting some. I setup a virtual portfolio containing one share from each of those on your shortlist. Unbelievably, every one of those stocks finished the day with a change in blue yesterday! You are awesome, thank you.

Thanks Sue - this one is representative of some of the many mails about the event - thanks to all of you who wrote in and I've replied to you all personally. It is really personally rewarding for me.

Richard writes:
Re The Apprentice "Madge" had as much go as a flat battery, tha'ts why he went. I'm not a betting man but my money, at the moment, is on the Estate Agent as either in 1st or 2nd place.
The female team leader came across as somewhere between a witch and a bitch. The female who did the sales pitch on the gym product seems like a really nice person but has no image, not her fault, but there it is.
"Ben" - can't believe he is even in the programme at all, he's no talent.
Male team leader was a very nice guy but totally out of his depth.
Agreed Richard!!

Keith writes:

Just finished reading your book, and I must say I enjoyed it immensely .So much so that I am going to read it again immediately to confirm that some of your ideas have stuck . Not only was it a good read , but it also confirmed that I am only doing a few things wrongly , not everything as unplanned as I thought .
One question though if you don't mind , where can I get relevant information regarding Aim listed companies which are moving up to the main market ? I don't seem to be able to find this info so far , and I wonder if you could point me in the right direction ?
Hi Keith..
There's no easy way.. I usually scan news items on advfn at 7am, a move is usually highlighted there - but there are only about 5-10 moves a year!

I have 3 great offers from ADVFN. First great deal: If you want level 2, though me it is only £299 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £360 PLUS vat from ADVFN direct (£423) so this deal saves you over £100! ADVFN level 2 also includes all the live trades made through Plus Markets which I find invaluable.
To accept this great deal just e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Level 2 offer" in the subject line and I will tell you how to get it. Level 2 for only £299 for a year (including vat), or under £25 a month!!

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £60pa - available from me for only £40! That's a saving of £20! You get access to the premium bulletin board which contains my discussion forum with direct access to chat to me and some very good traders.
Plus you get ADVFN's premium top lists which I talk about in my book and think are a must for finding great stock picks. That includes great lists like ex dividend dates, market maker buys plus chart breakouts and downs.
To take up the offer, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with Bronze in the subject line and I will tell you how to claim the deal.

Deal three is ADVFN's silver subscription - for those of you who want all the benefits of Bronze AND always on real-time prices.. no more using the back button and getting frozen out!

The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you'd like this deal with "silver" in the subject line.

Want to try out broker Selftrade superb trading system for no risk? You only have to trade once to get £50 bunged into your account!
All deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. So it's a no lose situation! Follow this link...

http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

Goodness, glad I had the courage to still hold onto those profit makers.

It's weird, I can't remember making so many profits in such a short space of time even in the excesses of the bull market. I think it's because I've latched onto a lot of the small cap recovery plays and re-ratings.

It's a question of whether there is more to come or if they will run out of steam. It's just amazing how quickly they go up. I can buy something and in just an hour they could be up 10% already.
A thought has popped into my head. I've made so much I think I should probably sell the lot in a couple of weeks, bank everything, take a long summer off trading and come back in September. Thinking about it! Wouldn't that be glorious?
I'm back in Chime (CHW) although it's risen an awful lot, fundamentally it still looks cheap, indeed could just as easily be double. I got 5,000 shares in two lots at an average 87.2... which is about where it is still as I write.
Target 120 stop 76. I still hold a small amount from when I bought it in the 40s! Strong balance sheet could see a further rerating I hope!
Galiform (GFRM) looks interesting - I keep reading in the papers about a possible bid here, as usual taken with a pinch of salt. Even so this is a great looking recovery play for me.

Debt is not so huge and the joinery business looks sound so I've bought with a medium-term view that it could be a potential doubler. Target 40 stop 15. I bought 15,000 at 19.9p - directors bought shedloads quite recently. Tried to then buy more but my broker's website broke. So I also picked up £100 a point with a spreadbet at 20.15. (Spreadbet firms charge extra spread)
My goodness! As I write they have just sped up to 23p. There is real heavy buying going on. Now I'm hoping something good is going to happen..
I made a spread bet in an old friend Charter (CHTR) getting £20 at 502 yesterday despite a rise of 28p already on the day. Wish I had got in a bit lower but still it's up a little from there. Fine company and if the market continues to recover a possible 100pts there I think. Target 620 stop 470.
I've gone in for a speculative short on Wetherspoon (JDW) short for a tenner at 453 - I noticed it's risen an awful lot recently and there's got to be some profit takers in there soon - it also keeps hitting a brick wall at 465. Target 400 stop 485. Also it was heading down in a strong market.
As I already said I'm puzzled on the profit-taking but took profit in half the Alterian for now holding onto the other half - sold at 78.5 to bank a profit of £740 on one of the positions. I also sold Celsis at 170 this am out of sheer boredom of the non movement which banks a profit of £104.
Otherwise I surprise myself by holding on to the fat profits grimly hoping greedily for more which could be my undoing here.
Recent "Punt" Workspace has done nicely already. There appears to be a persistent seller around 15p and hopeful once they are gone it could speed up. And everything else continues to rise or consolidate.
Scott Wilson has surprised me with such a big rise so quickly up from 50 to 80 quick time and now I am greedily targetting doubling my money if it can hit 100.
Glad I held onto Unite because I've now more than doubled my money there (bought at 50p now at 110p) and all taxfree in the ISA. I'm now wondering whether I can treble my money here. It looks strong and every time it dips it seems to attract buyers. Profit taking hit at 115 taking it down to 102 but buyers back in again. Profit currently well over £3,000.
Barclays continues to gain and up again today! Doubled already but again this is so strong I wonder again whether I will end up trebling on it so I'm going to hold for longer. Again profit around the £3,000 mark here. RBS has gained well today and looks like I could double on that too.
Fenner has already leapt 20% since my buy. WSP Group has gone up 30% quicktime since I bought again last week - needs to zap through 300 to get any higher. Petrofac's up 130pts. Heritage remains much higher with a near double on the first buy.
Seminar pick Microgen's up 15%, Hunting has soared 15%. Even little gamble Aminex is doing the business with a 25% increase.
SDL has repaid patience with a very decent rise indeed and Dragon Oil, up more than 100 pts on both buys there.
So I end an amazing couple of weeks with just massive gains. But I end it feeling confused as to why I'm not banking some of it. This could be a huge mistake. Maybe I'm a gambler and not an investor like I thought I was. Interesting.
I've been getting e-mails regarding my use of direct market access and who I use. I've tried a few and for me the easiest system for me is here:

http://www.igmarkets.co.uk/?QPID=1079&QPPID=1
Direct market access means you can place orders directly onto the order book bypassing brokers and market-makers with a chance to buy at the "sell" price. I would suggest you ensure you know what you're doing first but IG does provide much education with its "tradesense" educational tool which comes with it.
I also use its spreadbetting service too along with other firms like Tradefair because it now provides trailing stops which to me is a pretty sensible way of trading. Link is here: -
http://www.igindex.co.uk/?QPID=1078&QPPID=1

that also includes a pretty decent educational programme. As usual before opening accounts please read all the warnings on the sites. You can lose a lot of money if you're not careful so pay close attention to them and make sure you always understand what you are doing and what your potential losses are.

I've also started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit!

So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (non equity).

To get the offer, click here:

http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

If you want to get the contents of The Naked Trader website into your mailbox instead of waiting for the update to come through, plus exclusively news on the progress of my SIPP from the old Sunday Times column inc new higher risk Aim buys made for that, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with SIPP in the subject line for details of how to get it.

Want to quit the rat race? Try and start a new source of income so one day you can tell the boss to stuff it? You could do what I did to escape my grotty office job and become an independent distributor for the Utilities Discount Warehouse.
You get to sell great broadband, phone packages and energy to friends, relatives, contacts and anyone else you find and you get cash for each sale but more importantly you get a cut of their spend EVERY MONTH for as long as they are a customer!
It's called residual income and is a far better way to enjoy a ripe old age than relying on a pension. Because even after you stop selling the money STILL comes in!
I still get paid EVERY MONTH for sales I made back in 1999! Every time a customer uses broadband or the phone or switches on a light you get paid.
It's a great business and backed by a stock market company (Telecom Plus), a dedicated team of advisors.. and me to help you on your way!
Not only do you get paid out every month for each customer you can take on distributors. encourage them like I do and get paid on their sales as well.
One day, say you could made redundant, needed a year off or wanted to retire early can you imagine what joy it is to have the regular income coming in. It's wonderful.
You have to work at it, but if you do genuine repeat wealth could be yours. I did it. You can too. For full details, why not email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com.
An overview is also available at http://www.telecomplus.org.uk/fabdeal you can sign up directly there but do tell me!
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Trade tables follow! Trades are current open and recently closed trades. Closed trades feature the closing price and the amount I won or lost. All others are open. Trades get updated a little later than the narrative. Trading costs are ignored, however I also do not add in dividend payments and with the kinds of companies I buy, dividends tend to equal or outweigh costs. Spread rollovers ignored for web purposes. Tables as accurate as poss however a mistake or two can creep in and very occasionally if I forgot I sold or bought something it will be added at a later time.

Trades first reported Weds and Fri afternoons under "Markets" section.. afraid I can't do live trades as that would turn me into a tipster and I'd have to be regulated!