Still very much enjoying being an older daddy and having plenty of time to enjoy being with my delightful 4-year-old!
Because I don't have a job I find these precious times with my son that I will never get back marvellous, fulfilling and amazing.
So many Dads round here have to work long hours and only see their kids at weekends. So I feel exceptionally lucky as being out of the rat race and able to spend so much time with him.
Seeing the world though a child's eyes is brilliant - the enthusiasm and energy just breathtaking.
We had a breakthrough in the swimming pool last night - yes, he swum a length (short one) all on his own with no aids!
I was delighted and so was he - I was keen to get him swimming before starting school so that's fantastic.
So often I pick him up from nursery at 6pm, we walk down to the shop where he can have a treat if he's been good - he just picks one sweetie! (And I have half)
Then we sit in the park for a few mins and then off to our little swimming pool where we have a lot of fun throwing goggles into the water and retrieving them.

After, I change him into pyjamas and he gets presented to mummy ready for bed! He gets a late tea then off to bed.
(Please note that mummy does deserve a break given she spends so much time with him too!)
I'm really happy he's active and has no interest in TV or computer games (yet!)
We played a really good joke on mummy. I'm afraid I've found with a four-year-old my own childishness comes out which why I bought a fake turd.
Christopher and myself placed it on the bed for maximum effect. I told him to tell mummy.

"The cat's done poo on the bed," he said very convincingly, looking shocked.
Mummy shrieked when she saw it.

"That's the last time that cat is allowed in the bedroom!" She rushed out to get some cloths. Christopher picked up the fake and followed her.
Next thing I hear: "Oh no, he's holding it..." as Christopher advanced towards mummy with it in his hand.
Of course we both collapsed with laughter and gave the game away! Mummy agreed she's been totally fooled by the boys.

The fake turd is now awaiting the arrival of Granny soon where Christopher is looking forwards to playing the same joke!
Now what shall I buy next? A whoopee cushion?
How old am I again? Oh no. Really?
Grandad paid a weekend visit and had a great time - he also did a bedtime so we could go out for a meal and we went to our fave restaurant which does brilliant food (one Michelin star)
We decided to walk and it's a lot further than we realised and took us an hour at full pelt... but well worth it for the food.
Service was excellent too and I slipped our waiter a tenner in cash as I know they don't often get much of a tip on a credit card payment. Just perfect service, polite and friendly without being too servile.
Wallking back looking at all the shops I wondered why some people bother to go into business when they just haven't got any common sense.
One shut down sandwich bar had been advertising "free salads". No wonder they went bust.
A pub had a sign outside with "Curry - Just £7!" Trouble is it was a blackboard and the curry had been £6 because you could see that 7 had been scrawled on top of the 6! Doh!
A beauty parlour boasted outside about "Special Spring offers!" Someone has got to tell them it's summer.
And someone had started a takeaway called "Tossas".

Oh dear. I feel for the staff - how often have they already been told "You must be a right Tossa to work here..."
Clem Chambers' excellent financial thriller is now out in paperback!! Remember I mentioned this one a few months ago when it came out in hardback!
So now it's a lot cheaper and it's a great thriller - the story is about a whizzkid chartist who can read charts so well he can make fortunes easily.

One day he calculates his charts and sees that in 6 months shares everywhere will crash so badly that most will go out of business.
He hooks up with others to work out why it's going to happen and whether they can stop the financial meltdown - it really is a top read especially if you like shares and charts already. I bet you get hooked on the story like I did.
To get a copy just log onto amazon.co.uk and tap in Clem Chambers into the search - the book is called The Armageddon Trade - enjoy!!

Angela - we have finished that delicious pot of your home made honey you brought for us to the seminar - honey will never taste the same again!

Thanks very much for the continued feedback coming on on last week's seminar - so glad you enjoyed it especially those of you who stayed till late in the evening!
If you missed my seminar, do not fear - the next one is in September!
That seminar will be on Friday September 25th at Heathrow.

If you are interested and want details of that one mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "September Seminar interested" in the subject line and I will send you details. A good early booking discount is available for any early bird bookings.
My seminars are 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!

Finally seminar wise there'll be a follow up seminar for any of you who've been to a previous one sometime this autumn - based on Technical Analysis with top trader Susan Marmor. Again let me know.

Spreadbetting firm Tradefair Spreads has upped its offer exclusively to Naked Trader readers to a £100 credit. This offer is exclusive to me and not available anywhere else...

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 (Terms and conditions apply)

If you'd like to apply for an account with Tradefair Spreads and get the freebie click this link:
http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/
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!

MF Global offers a free £2 bet on the FTSE to all readers.
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 now open for the next Naked Trader seminar on Friday September 25th

Price is £495 plus 15% vat. However there is a large early booking discount available!

That includes three course lunch, coffees, snacks 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 "September 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!

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 (terms and conditions apply)

To get the offer, click here:

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

Reader Richard sent me this disturbing tale from a US paper:

"The UK government is about to spend $700 million dollars installing surveillance cameras inside the private homes of citizens to ensure that children go to bed on time, attend school and eat proper meals.

No you aren't reading a passage from George Orwell's 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, this is Britain in 2009, a country which already has more surveillance cameras watching its population than the whole of Europe put together.

Now the government is embarking on a scheme called "Family Intervention Projects" which will literally create a nanny state on steroids, with social services goons and private security guards given the authority to make regular "home checks" to ensure parents are raising their children correctly.

Telescreens will also be installed so government spies can keep an eye on whether parents are mistreating kids and whether the kids are fulfilling their obligations under a pre-signed contract.

Around 2,000 families have been targeted by this program so far and the government wants to snare 20,000 more within the next two years. The tab will be picked up by the taxpayer, with the "interventions" being funded through local council authorities.

Another key aspect of the program will see parents deemed "responsible" by the government handed the power to denounce and report bad parents who allow their children to engage in bad behavior. Such families will then be targeted for "interventions".

Both parents and children will also be forced to sign a "behavior contract" with the government known as Home School Agreements before the start of every year, in which the state will dictate obligations that it expects to be met."

Oh boy. Isn't that depressing? And why is there no surprise there?

Snooping, cameras, informing, nasty, horrible everyone Vs everyone else... just breeds a nasty country and society.

Another example is these silly little cars with CCTV cameras on them - designed to take pix of you parking illegally - cheaper than traffic wardens and brilliant at revenue raising.
Popped into a shop quickly? Ha. You're nicked. Never mind businesses are going bust. We want another £50 off you.
Is any of this ever going to be stopped or is it going to carry on getting worse?
Harriet Harperson is in charge of us all in August and is making various weird proclamations. I think it's possible she might be slightly barmy. Every day she comes out with something odd. And really quite stupid.
She simply shows how low the standards of our leaders have become.
Talking of that can you believe the new Speaker is claiming for £20,000 to do up his new free place - even thought it just had a massive facelift costing a fortune? here we go again!
The newspapers and their magazines are all full of "summer recipes". Why? Because it fills pages and pages while everyone's gone on holiday.
But I do wonder how many people really follow them? Bet it's not many. Both me and Mrs NT have occasionally snipped out the odd recipe.
But they usually end up getting something spilt on them and then get binned. Or else the cleaner chucks them out.
Or else I have another look at the recipe and the recipe includes ingredients I can't get from Tescos such as Googleberries, lobster puree or Chantilly Lace cheese.
Dragons Den tonight - can Peter Jones get any more smug, self satisfied and generally up himself? If he makes an offer will he only allow 30 seconds for any other offers?
Of course he thinks it should just be him and you can see him looking at Deborah with contempt sometimes - he is going to want to get his own back after she undercut him last week. Go girl!!!
About time Duncan made an offer for something - his lip appears curled now even before anyone speaks. Loosen up old bean.

If you want to bet on sport/Big Bro 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.

Steve writes:
Your summer seminar I attended was a triumph in human endurance. Congratulations on your 12 hour marathon.

It was spectacular, hilariously entertaining and outrageously informative.

I used to work at the BBC and I have seen and organised many seminars. Yesterday was a great example of bringing the subject to life.
I know you know all that, but you deliver even more than you promise and the venue was fun too

Thanks Steve - I enjoyed it too but the gin and tonic at the end I enjoyed even more!

Sharelle writes:
Your summer seminar was just PUUURfect - well in my opinion anyway. just needed big puffy 60's cushions for us on the floor :)
Even without them though, they were the best seats.
It was invaluable to me as an absolute beginner, watching you research stuff and put some trades on.
Listening to the mistakes of others is so important too.
I think I understood everything you said. I shall test myself today now that my brain has had time to cool down to normal temperature.
I can't WAIT to begin.
I'm so very glad I waited until doing this seminar before beginning. I can see all the mistakes I hopefully wont make. If I make them, at least I will know and correct them.
Getting the set-up right from the outset is also so valuable. When to trade in an ISA or spread beting account or SIPP.
You have really simplified things beyond my expectation.
Thank you!! and for the chocolate and sweets - VERY much appreciated - and the lunch was excellent.

It was also nice to meet Mrs Naked Trader and would have been great to meet Baby Naked Trader - maybe next time.
Sharelle glad you enjoyed it. Mistakes will always be made no matter how long you have been trading.

As you say the main thing is to spot them fast and get out quick if one has been made.
Craig writes:

Hope Elizabeth, Christopher and yourself are well and enjoying the summer(!) - the long range weather forcasters got that one wrong didn't they.

Anyhow, I was listening to the radio on Sun - I thing it was 5-live - and there was an interview with "Nica Burns" (I think that was what the presenter said), owner of 5 West End theatres. The programme was quite interesting, and at the same time amusing. She was talking about some of the goings on at several of the theatres including: a couple doing what they should only be doing at home (if you know what I mean), at least she though it was one(!) couple, and not a new trend. Then there was the 'craze' a few years ago when those laser pens were the lastest gimmick. The punters were trying to shine the light in the eyes of the actors. She did say that over 98% of customers were well behaved. How great it must be to have such an interesting sister.
Hi Craig yes that was her - she is in charge of the Edinburgh comedy festival too so is likely to be all over the papers in August! Yes, people do all kinds of weird things in her theatres - and one thing in particular which afraid I'd best not expand on...

Jim writes:

I just wanted to let you know how much i enjoyed your seminar on Friday, the day was
superb.Your energy and determination to fit in all of your subjects has to be applauded
its easy to see that you love trading and every thing connected with it. I now feel more
confident about selecting possible shares to trade, I can't thank you enough.
Many thanks to you and Elizabeth for a lovely day.

Thanks Jim and thanks to all of you who came who wrote nice things. Made the day very rewarding for me.

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! You get £50 and I get £50.
All deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. They also charge £35 plus vat pa for all accounts. Follow this link...

http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

Wow wee - just when I thought things couldn't get any better than they already were, they did. And if that's not a warning I should be looking at banking some profits, nothing is.
I've had three companies report, all three have soared - and a bid for a share too!! Can't get much better than that.
First some more buying, as I continue to probably ride my luck.
First off I bought a share even though it had already gone up 33%!! That's the kind of guy I am - I bought after an excellent statement that shows a good turnabout story.
I bought 5,000 shares at 64 in Flying Brands (FBDU) - the company had looked in a bit of trouble but the statement nixed all that and I reckon around the 100p mark should be the rating - some big buying too coming in even at this much higher price. target 110 stop 57.
I've been trying for ages to get a share I had on the seminar shortlist called latchways (LTC).

It's in the booming health and safety sector and looks to me undervalued by quite a bit. They make health and safety equipment and business looks good. The spread was the problem - often 25pts and so on the seminar day I put in order at the "sell" price on direct access but didn't get any - then I tried all last week and never got any.

Yesterday I finally caved and bought Latchways shares at the real buy price getting 500 at 597.75. Just as well as there was a big buyer at 620 today and the price is motoring! Target 850 stop 550.
I currently have a buy order for another 500 Latchways at 630.5 on the order book which those of you with level 2 should see (for today only!) You never know, I might get them!
Finally a punt in Gem Diamonds (GEMD) A punt because quite honestly the company's impossible to value - as it says on the tin it mines for diamonds and the shares came back from a whopping 1200 to 200! Big buyers are coming in I think because diamonds could surge in value again if there are signs of an end to the recession. It could easily nip up 100 quite quickly so a shorter-term trade here which might become longer-term if it keeps going up. Risky one though. I bought 2,000 shares at 206.9p Target 350 stop 180.
I've also done some other trades making hay while sun shines but.. the sun's out and frankly this update has already taken up 2 hours so I am keeping them to myself!
Hurrah! Another bid has come my way - this time it's Celsis - bought this one live just two weeks ago at the seminar! I was explaining level 2, timing and the order book at the time and bought the share instantly I saw the level 2 data plus the other tricks I was teaching....
Now we know why level 2 was so strong and all those trades we noticed were coming in. Shame I only bought 1,000. Anyway I've sold at 228.67 to bag a quick profit of £412.

I took profits now because I can't be bothered to wait and wait for the 232.5 bid price. It is possible the bid could be rejected and the price go higher especially as some shareholders quite rightly would have wanted nearer 300p but with so many shares out there going well it seems sensible to move on. So goodbye Celsis - it's been fun!
Recent buy Elementis boomed after its results with some heavy buying. And it hit the target in just a few days - so I just decided as it had reached target and after those results looking afresh I wouldn't buy them at this price so I sold at target at 39.5 for a quick profit of £900. Of course they could go higher but personally they look up with events at this higher price unless a bid comes.
So that's two fast profits for the site of £1,312.
It's quite amazing right now - the whole portfolio is simply surging higher with massive profits everywhere.
Longer term hold XP Power reported and what a great report and no surprise to see the shares soar - tempting to take the now massive profits on my two positions here but there results look so good and buyers still there that I'm going to be greedy and try and hold for more!
Also recent buy Spirent reported too with another cracking report!! Now up more than 10% here and looks good for more
Recent buys Aveva and Cape have both motored up - Aveva (another from the seminar shortlist) is really leaping up.

Both bank holdings have surged after the Lloyds results today - I've now got a near £8,000 profit in Barclays and £3,000 from RBS.
Intec Telecom continues to shine brightly with big gains. BTG which I've held for a long time from the 120s - some really good buying has been coming in lifting it quite a lot and I wonder if something good is on the way!
Hornby has gone nicely higher, probably went a bit too quick and it's come back a bit and tempted to buy a few more. Chime is suddenly dinging its bell again and shoots up today.
Profits on Petrofac have surged up to £8,000, doubled on those...and there's £10,000 profit on Heritage on its own.
Even fun punt Styles and Wood is going very well up nearly 20% though the market-makers seem to be taking fright and have widened the spread to try and choke off trading.
What can I say except that I'm very excited about progress and the money is simply pouring into my ISAs and spreadbetting accounts.
And I'm feeling too lazy to add it all up but the website not taken profits must be up and over £70,000 ish!

Of course things have come a long way quickly so a pullback would not be a surprise. On balance though I remain holding.

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 (terms and conditions apply).

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!
****
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!