** My new book - about spreadbetting - has just been published, you can order it here:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/401334.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

Welcome to any new readers coming to the website from the new book, I would suggest you read the spreadbetting book in conjunction with Naked Trader, available here:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/27120.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
**

Just a note to those of you coming to next Fri seminar (13th), you all ought to have got venue details if you didn't and are booked in please let me know.

There is still space at next Friday's event, if you fancy spending a day with me, live markets and some nice people, see below for details and mail me for info. There is also a new date, June 24th, again more details below.

It's been a while, I can hardly remember how to write an update... How do you write? What is the stockmarket? And why are we here anyway? What's a share? How do you buy one, know any good books about the markets to explain it all to me?

It's been a busy and great fun time. We've done Florida and Disney and Easter and royal weddings and parks and cycling and sunshine and planes and trains and met cousins and old friends and great meals and everything has simply been fabulous.

The weather was great both in Florida AND here! Fantastic.

It's a bit weird getting back to normal after so long. Christopher is only just back at school after what seems at least a year off. I guess many of you are pleased the schools are back open at last! Though for others getting back to work after so many bank holidays must be difficult.

A brilliant trip to Florida, we're going to head back there next year. From start to finish it was great. We all loved it and Christopher had an "awesome" time.

Our hotel was amazing. Just brilliant service. Great rooms with great views.

And a "lazy river" that winds its way between 7 swimming pools. You could spend all day going round and round in the sun drifting on a plastic ring. Then having a cocktail - or a burger.

I always think if you don't ask you don't get. So asked the manager of the seminar hotel I use if he could get us an upgrade at the Florida hotel in the same group. So he emailed that manager.

It worked a treat! They were full for a while but we got an upgrade to a suite for the last three days! And in the intervening time they kept sending freebies up. Bottles of wine, a monster basket of crisps and chocs, cocktails, unbelievable.

What a business Disney is. Loads of different theme parks. All clean and well-run. And all absolutely packed to the rafters.

You've got to get there early! We were queueing from 8am to get in for 9am. Then a mad dash to the best ride! Being a scaredy cat I stayed away from anything scary.

I suddenly had a bad leg, my arm hurt or I was feeling sick. Anyway excuses seemed to be bought...

But lucky for me we have cousins living out there and they did the scary ones!

However I was tricked onto a scary one. I was told it wasn't scary however just before I got on what seemed an innocuous little train I noticed its title: "Runaway Train". I should have run for it!

Yikes. It was horrible. I shut my eyes and hoped it would be over fast.

Afterwards Mrs NT said "Sorry I did write down "not for Robbie" on the guidebook but missed it."

Meanwhile young Christopher hurtled round loads of scary ones.

How on earth ordinary US families can afford these parks is beyond me. It must have cost us well over a grand for passes for say 5 days. Then there is all the stuff to buy inside and food and drink.

Yet the places are packed with people spending freely. I either means the US economy is doing all right or else everyone continues to stack up massive debt.

The highlight was probably the evening Disney parade at the Magic Kingdom ... Starts about 9pm so we went to this park later on getting there by boat.

It's amazing. Loads of floats, Disney characters etc, fireworks. Really magical.

If you have kids and you're wondering it's worth going to Disney World, do it! Best guide (thanks to a reader for this tip) is the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney Parks.

Best park is Magic Kingdom. Most boring? Universal Studios - well, for kids anyway.

If you are going to go to a few take one of the packages, it'll save money. Fastpass? Not really worth bothering if there is one popular ride just get there early.

Do go if you can afford it. We have some magical memories. I know Disney is a business but it is great for kids and adults alike.

It was great for Christopher to meet some of his cousins over there. And to meet some relatives of Mrs NT's.

Despite only having one golf lesson I agreed a game of golf with one cousin with a handicap of 12.

And of course I dispatched ball after ball into rivers, lakes and woods.

After a while he just mentioned that each golf ball was 5 dollars! After a while we decided I should only shoot from somewhere near the hole itself. Which saved a lot of fivers.

A while back one golfer decided to try and pluck his ball out of the lake. Big mistake.

He put his arm in and pulled it out with an alligator attached. The poor chap nearly lost his arm. No-one now puts their hand in the lake given there are apparently four gators in there...

We really didn't want to leave Florida! However all good things must end as they say and we reluctantly returned but lucky for us the weather was good here!

Easter saw the arrival of some family, a sister from Ireland and a Grandpa.

Also had a visit from a friend from abroad who I haven't seen for many years, that was great too.

We enjoyed great weather, the London parks, plenty of games, tennis and also relaxing in the sunshine.

Look, as you can tell I've had a fabulous few weeks and I won't go on about it any longer. It's probably like other people's holiday snaps. Thanks for bearing with me.

The Royal Wedding! I can't honestly say I wasn't that interested beforehand- I'm not against the Monarchy, I guess I have no strong feelings either way but I have to say the wedding made me feel pro!

Best to admit when you get things wrong. It was excellent.

The day showed off England at its best. It was all brilliantly run and showed the world we can really do some things well and that we might be a united, progressive country.

The couple looked fantastic, the best thing of all is they showed we have moved on and it contained ancient pagentry and pomp but also managed to look modern too.

Something to cheer about! Yes, okay we know they are born into privilege. But a lot of countries are pretty envious about how it works and yes, it really has pushed me more into pro monarchy.

And it's good to have at least some kind of head of the country who isn't one of our hopeless politicians

(And wasn't it honestly nice to see no blackberries, I Phones and the rest of it?)

Read a good finance book on hols, will review that next time.
There are a couple of seats spare for my seminar next Friday May 13th at Heathrow. If you fancy a last minute seat and come and spend time with me in just a few days mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "May seminar interested" in the subject line.

Beginners and improvers welcome! Come and spend the day with me, the markets and some lovely people - and of course, lunch!
If you mail me I will then send you details and a full agenda of what is covered. Also more details below somewhere.

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!

I know some of you can't make next week so I have just booked a new date, Friday June 24th at Heathrow. If you are interested, mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "June seminar interested" in the subject line. There is an early booking discount.

For those who have been to previous seminars I am also doing a follow up seminar at heathrow on Friday July 8th. That's all about a refresh of the previous seminar and also all day live level 2, timing, research and trade placing.

And there's some small space left for the Technical Analysis seminar on Saturday May 21st for those of you who have been to one of my seminars but want to learn about TA, how to use it for unemotional entries and exits. That's with top trader Susan and myself. Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "TA or follow up seminar interested" in the subject line for full info.

I get quite a few mails asking what magazines or news services I subscribe to etc. Well, hardly any! I get the Investors Chronicle delivered.
However I do take (£8.99 a month though take the yearly option at 20% discount to that) a daily email which is my main source of news about such things as broker upgrades, main news items, analysis of stocks and markets, forthcoming company statements and events, stock recommendations and targets from the top brokers, what kind of earnings expected from companies and a whole heap more useful stuff.
I sometimes get ideas from this for companies to watch or monitor or even buy. And it's handy to get a summary of what the brokers are saying and looking at future earnings etc.
It usually arrives around 5ish every day.
I contacted the people that put it together and they offer a free 14 day trial of it to my readers - so you can cancel after 14 days if you don't feel it's useful enough.
Once you cut and paste this link into your browser, click "uk 14 days free trial" then I would go "yearly option" which gives a 20% discount making it just over £7 a month, as you can still cancel seems worth it. Hope you find it useful like I do. It's one of the few paid for news services that has really impressed.
http://bit.ly/eBPXuG

An interesting email from a reader. The thrust of it was he was going to buy a share after doing a lot of research but then it went up 12% and he hadn't bought it yet. So he felt angry.
How does he stop/halt the feelings of anger?
Well, you have to take the emotion out of trading. Which isn't easy.
I suggested he should read this book.. by Jason Zweig
http://books.global-investor.com/books/256158.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
This is the one to read on psychology. Great read.
Fancy getting the naked trader updates direct into your inbox? And a bit before it gets updates on the net including news from my pension trades made from my SIPP?

All you have to do is take a phone or energy service from the Utility Discount Warehouse at www.telecomplus.org.uk/fabdeal.

I get some commission and you get the service! On top of that you ought to make some amazing savings on your phone, broadband, or energy use or all! There's even an internet phone where you can make free calls from wi fi hotspots!

Prices are guaranteed lower than the top 6 suppliers but even better you can get huge discounts on your energy/phone bill if you shop at places like Marks and Spencers, Boots, Sainsburys and a whole load more. 5% of your spend comes directly off your billl. Many are saving a fortune from their energy bills.

So save a few quid, and get my stuff in your inbox! A win win? Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "mail service" in the subject line and I'll send you details.

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 5 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://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/nakedtrader100/

The number of emails to me is nearly reaching saturation point and I'm struggling! I'm getting 100s which is lovely in a way but killing me in another.
The main problem is the length of some of them, indeed some run to the length of novels, so, please, help save my eyes and please keep mails to under 150 words.. you can do it! It's close to the stage where I am going to have to say I will answer all mails but those over 200 words will get deleted. Keep them short and sweet, please!!
Also, it's possible the answer you seek from me is already in FAQ's. And do remember I can't discuss individual shares with you as it would be classified as investment advice which I'm not authorised to give.
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.

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
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

**** BOOKING FOR FRIDAY MAY 13TH AT HEATHROW NOW OPEN**

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 open for the Naked Trader seminar on Friday May 13th

Price is £550 plus vat. There is an early bookers discount currently available.
That includes three course lunch, coffees, snacks etc. There is an early bookers discount currently available.
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 "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?

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 5 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply)
To get the offer, click here:
http://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/nakedtrader100/

Loads of women weeping all over the country at the wedding.

While the blokes roll their eyes but at least grateful there wasn't any competing football.

I feel slightly sorry for Kate in a way, sorry Princess Kate of something or other. Was it Slough?

She can't do much we take for granted, like going shopping on our own, or being anonymous.

She'll have loads of boring functions to attend and it won't be a bed of roses. So all the best to her, she seems really nice.

So at last Osama Bin Laden has been killed.

It took some time as he was living in the Pakistani version of Aldershot. Conspiracy theorists are having a field day. But well, one of his many wives was there at the time so let's see what she has to say.

He must be up there now having it off with 100 virgins. Poor sod. I'd rather have a cup of tea and an oat crumble.

Of course I voted yesterday.

Using the AV system I voted "No" as my first choice and "yes" as my second.

See, this is what democracy is all about...

But honestly what a waste of effing money. The Lib Dems throwing our money away just because they think they'd get more seats with this system.

And it sums up today's horrible breed of politicians. They don't care about us but just spend all their time wasting money and bitching about eachother.

Have you seen PMQ's recently? It gets worse and worse, a playground for idiotic and self-important in the main.

The tubes are getting worse. Non stop people on their phones with calls they don't need to make.

"I'm on the tube."

I sat opposite a young guy who spent the whole journey playing games on his mobile. Ding! Zap! He couldn't care less that all those around him found all the noises annoying.

A fantasy would be to grab his phone and stamp on it. To a standing ovation from the rest of the carriage.

The Apprentice is back next week. Already! Seems like yesterday.

I am sure like me you'll be fascinated by the bunch of tosspots who will compete for the eventual title of the biggest tosser, ooopps I mean The Apprentice.

It's back next week, let's hope the contestants will be as awful as ever.

In the meantime enjoying "Three in a Bed" (stoppitt!!) - generally shows us Brits at our (sadly) bitchy worst.

For parents, Jake and the Pirates starts on Saturday on Disney Junior 9.45am, Christopher was hooked on this in the States, so might be worth a look for your young uns! It's been a huge hit over there.

The spreadbetting firm I use for sports betting is here:
Via this link Open a Sporting Index account and there's £100 cash offer - please check terms and conditions which apply.

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.

Carole writes :
This is only my second email to you since last September's seminar, promise. Catching up on one of your archived diaries, for a laugh, I have to disagree with your comments re the royal wedding.

I am much looking forward to it. And Prince William was great in Christchurch last week at the Memorial Service, all my many friends living there have commented on his presence, some attaching photos they had taken! But do, please, keep writing and rambling.

You're allowed to disagree with me if you want. But I think the Royal Wedding is more of a girly thing isn't it?

I don't think us men are really that interested in the whole thing. But I hope you enjoy it, they appear to be a nice young couple and wish them all the best.

But it must be a little strange at that age that whereever you go, people wave at you and you don't see any real life..
Duane writes:
Wanted to say a big thank you to you and Mrs NT for an amazing day of learning and fun at your seminar.

The way you explained the share trading from start to finish was understandable and really interesting, well worth the seminar fee!
It was great to hear such down to earth and honest assessment from a successful trader like yourself. The way you explained everything was good revision from your book and gave further insight into successful share trading.

I particularly liked your live trades and going through your accounts when you gave snippets of why you invested in certain shares and why you kept/dumped them. Also helpful was the way you searched for prospective shares and within minutes discounted them or put them on a short list for further examination and correct entry points. Amazing!
You could really tell that you loved doing what you do and your energy levels to keep going till 10pm was well....... I had to leave at 9pm I was shattered!

Thanks again Robbie I am keen to put into practice what you have taught me. Even though you make squillions from your trades and I am sure don't need to do the seminars for financial gain, but please keep doing those seminars for newbies like me!

Thanks Duane! Don't expect to be doing them foreever but very rewarding for me to help people so expect to carry on for a while longer.
Malcolm writes:
A thousand thanks for the seminar, which I found both informative and inspiring. If I can keep my own psychology somewhere near balanced I can make steady money at this until I pop off.

I was particularly pleased to find your approach so simple. This chimes with Warren Buffet, who of course says,

'If calculus or algebra were required to be a great investor, I'd have to go back to delivering newspapers.'

It also confirms my own prejudice, and what my friends in the City have told me, namely, that the financial complexity is unnecessary, only there to bamboozle the unwitting public, and doesn't make it any easier for the City boys to make money. Hence nine out of ten funds haven't beaten the index in any four year period since 1914 (Motley Fool).

Thanks Malcolm. Glad to hear and hope you don't pop off just yet. I agree: simplicity is best and all the jargon tends to be just there to make the jargon talker sound important or that they know what they are talking about.

Terry writes:
Fantastic seminar.

I have always been sceptical of the public testaments you see on web sites
saying how great an event was. Now I'm one of those people!. I
genuinely believe that the tips and techniques as well as the overall
approach you demonstrated will radically improve my trading performance

Thanks Terry, well all the testaments are real but know what you mean and glad you feel it was worth it!
Stephen writes:
I read your book and did the course - and I wasn't sure if I'd recoup the cost, it's been 2 years and I've made £38k + saved a loss transferring a Jupiter ISA heavily invested in BP. I can't tell you how important this is or how grateful I am. That's just me, who knows how much people have made with your help and saved by not making mistakes. I wanted to get into shares as they recovered after the crunch, but I assumed I had to put a large amount in one company I thought would make a big jump.
But what happens when you make £1m on the website, will you still do courses? I don't know how you do your ISA and SIPP investments, write the website, books, courses and answer e-mails. But please don't give it up. Couldn't you do the courses and have a standing website which gets updated with your trades say once a month so people can see what you do..

Stephen thanks so much for such a nice mail and much appreciated! Dunno about the future, I feel like I'm getting jaded. It's possible I might just reduce it all at some point to twice a month after going weekly - that would probably help. The other problem is other people's angst is getting to me and the email workload becoming overwhelming. I think after ten years it might be time for me to quit. Anyway good luck with your trades and hope you make a lot more.

I have 3 great offers from ADVFN.

SAVE OVER £120 !
First great deal: If you want level 2, though me it is only £305 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £432 direct from advfn so this deal saves you over £120! 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 gives you access to all the market maker positions and the order book and I would not trade without it! More on level 2 in my book and I spend hours on it at my seminars.

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £72 pa - available from me for only £41! (inc vat) That's a saving of over £30! You 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 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. All as explained in the book.
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.

Bronze is included inside the level 2 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 nearly £30 for your first year by paying just £141 inc vat via me instead of £169.20.
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 online deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. Charges for phone deals are higher, check terms and conditions. They also charge £35 plus vat pa for all accounts. Follow this link...
http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

Right, it's been an age since the last update. In fact this morning I groaned because I realised I was going to have to trawl though loads of trades. I'm still groaning now.

And groaning even more as I fell off my bike (idiot) and damaged my wrist which means I am painstakingly typing this with my left hand only. (No jokes please) So comments are shorter than normal and apologies for any mistakes. It ought to heal up over the weekend here's hoping. Glad I wrote the rest of the site before it happened otherwise not sure I could have done this at all.

In the main, it's been pretty good though the market itself has become volatile and difficult again. Some of the very small resourse stocks have been hit by falling commodity prices and serves as a warning to investors not to just load up with these in their portfolios. A balanced portfolio is a must or else you can lose a lot of your capital.

However have you noticed the ftse simply trades from 5800ish to 6100ish? It hasn't really actually moved much this year at all. (Looking further out neither has it done much this decade!)

As usual I've held onto the good ones for more, got rid of things that were going down, issuing warnings or looking ropey. I've added some positions and one or two newbies. Actually, all in all I probably overtraded something I'm trying to put right.

My best ones have carried on going up, my dodgy or unsure ones have been ruthlessly axed. Bit like Bin Laden (except best not to wait ten years). or in other words I have done a massive spring clean over the last few weeks, as I have done in other years.

Buys first.

I've bought 3,000 MS International at 180. (MSI) A funny one this. It has a steady but unspectacular business however it's the defence side that interests me. It appears to be growing strongly. Its statements are hilariously short usually and it doesn't exactly shout from the rooftops so I take the recent statement a "strong second half turnout" as being really bullish!

The really good news is the head cheese has put his money where his mouth is and bought a massive 150,000 shares himself at 200ish which is about where it still is. The next report could be really good and with its cash and good fundies I am hopeful of a run up to the 300p area though it'll take some patience probably. Target 295 stop 155.

I got some 600 Group (SIXH) 15,000 at 30.7. Just looks an overlooked and undervalued engineer with potential very good upside in time. Might need some patience here too but that's something I do have! target 40 stop 26. Great thing here is that the smaller makers like this are apparently doing well at the moment according to various reports I saw.

I topped up in Micro Focus (MCRO) at 261 for £20 on a spreadbet on a dip (price was higher in the market but the spreadbet includes the upcoming dividend already) - on the basis the head man going was good news for a potential bid as the papers reported he was an obstacle. Since then they confirmed a bid approach. It might not happen so it's in gamble territory. If it does happen I suspect it'll be in the 420 area. T 420 S 250

I couldn't quite resist a top up of AZ Electronics (AZEM) getting a further 1,000 at 246.9. Plenty of potential here, some risk too but I think worth taking. Target 320 stop 220. It said yesterday things were going well and any impact from Japan is negligible. So a nice topup on oversold. If it can head above 300 it will look very bullish but could prove a barrier. I reckon it might just be under the radar and so upside could with patience be really good.

I love "ahead of" statements. I topped up on a very bullish statement from Treatt (TET) where I am already in at 340ish with a new top up of 1,000 at 386.61. This chemicals company is going really well and I loved the bullish statement. Looks like it has further to go and I'm looking for somewhere near a fiver. This one tends to move then stop for ages. But when it moves it moves!! T 500 S 330

Onto spreadbet, I also got back into Croda (CRDA) at 1693 for a fiver and so far so good.

Here is the result of the big spring clean clearout, probably bigger than last springs cleanout. One of the main reasons is I am planning a peaceful and relaxed summer and want to be free of any worry about too much risk or volatility. So I have made things more defensive. Generally axed was anything that produced a warning, uncertainty or I became worried about or anything that looked too risky for the ISA and anything I felt was going to take time to monitor over a lazy summer. And a bit of profit taking too. And I cleared out some resource stocks which have been weak and look set to be very volatile this summer with the oil price crazy and perhaps valuations even crazier.

Alterian axed at 155 (warning) to take an overall profit of £4,122. 888 went at 45 for a loss of £53 - missed the chance for a nice profit as it bubbled up to 51. Emed went at 15.75 for a loss of £220. Asterand sold at 14 for a profit of £904. Kofax went at just under 480 for a loss of £249. (All too risky for now and were sliding)

Onto spreadbet sells. Cpp went in the end at 140 - it did get to 170 first but fell off again and I felt it wasn't worth the risk of holding any more but I made a little back on the average down. An overall loss of £2,585. I took profits on Filtrona at 351 for a profit of £560. I took profits of £1,155 on the ftse short at 5871. Missed the bottom by miles. Encore has gone at 111 for a profit of £270. Afren is out at 159 for a profit of £255.Shorts in Home Retail and Dignity didn't work and went at 208 and 747 respectively for losses of £ 240 and £55.

All of which profit minus losses gives a profit of £3,864 for the site.

That now leaves me with a strong lot of shares I can relax with for the summer. And I have a nice list I want to buy on any big weakness with plenty of cash to pick up shares on any really bad days of fear.

Portfolio Highlights:

Recent buy Avon Rubber goes well and this week reported a good increase in profit and also a pretty good outlook, so on that basis happy to remain holding. Already up more than 20% since buying before the hols. Good buying there at higher prices and if it can get above 300, I think there is 350 here for plenty more profit.

Capital Drill has become a nice star performer. Glad I topped up, while I was away it announced some very decent contract wins, and one with the mighty BH Billiton which has got to be very good news for the future. I mark this down as a longer termer which could produce fantastic returns. A target of 130 from the current low 100s looks a reasonable bet here.

Alternative Networks continues to move gently higher. A lovely share off the radar which shows little sign of stopping. Smashing profits here now. Would suspect a plateau here at 240 before onwards to 300.

Volex has moved back strongly and regained the 300p level providing some good profits. Kentz goes from strength to strength and is going to move to the main market and about time. Once it does will get some in my ISA. Until then happy to hold in a spreadbet where I'm in profit by over £5.000. Heritage has been coming back a lot - have taken some profits on it in the past and also had the 100p dividend but just about holding onto my last bits of it.

Character has been very disappointing but I looked at it afresh and it just appears so cheap I'm sticking with it despite it hovering at stop levels. In fact really I am considering buying more at the cheaper price. 2 Ergo, same comment.

London Capital Group has stormed higher and making excellent profits there now, I think there is still more to come.

Dialight holds its recent rises well and the website holds profits of nearly £40,000. In reality, as those who've come to seminars have seen, my profits actually way greater than this. I'd expect to continue to be patient and would hope to see a tenner maybe by year end. Potential as a bid target too.

Yule Catto has at last picked up after some poor days and looks like it has bottomed at 200 and seems very undervalued. Devro produced a decent enough statement while I was gone and remains a good long term hold. Aggreko has stormed ahead even higher, what a great business and this is simply one to continue to hold, probably for another year.

African Auran has transformed into two separate companies, Aureus and Afferro . Sadly the split seems to have done the opposite of what was intended and the combined price is way lower than when the split happened. Still doubled on the combined price but wish I'd sold before the split now obviously. Right now looks oversold so looking at buying some anew. In fact I just had a look. I really couldn't resist with level 2 looking good and just topped up at 113.5 ! (afferro)

Recent buy Harvey Nash goes well and it produced good results. Entertainment One profits are close to £5,000. It's come back a tad but raised some more money for acquisitions and it announced institutions have really backed the placing at 160. I would not be surprised to be still holding this one in a year's time. BTG, long-termer has nicely doubled and looks strong.

Microgen has held its own throughout and some lovely profits of more than £20,000 for the site. What a lovely share this has been since I bought it live at a seminar at 45p. It holds its value and slowly advances.

E2V has been going great guns with super profits. Norcros has been a nice riser and it's nearly at target.

Exillon keeps producing good drilling reports It's raised loads of cash at 400p which shows it is being widely supported. Should go a lot higher and might become a core holding. Good support for this in the low 400s.

Telecom Plus .. website profits are up and over £25,000. This is also my big dividend earner which brings me cash of more than £15,000. Recent trading looks good. Little LOQ holds well at a higher price, still think 2 quid could be achievable, good summer weather will help.
The Vitec Group has quietly gone up. Petrofac remains a core hold. Though easy for me to say that as I bought in the 350 area. Together with spinoff Enquest sees me sitting on profits of £30,000.

Long termers with great profits like New Brit, Porvair etc stay in and Sepura has gone above 50 which looks bullish.

Will write more on the markets next Wednesday when hopefully the hand will have healed. Ouch, my wrist really hurts now.

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 5 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply).
To get the offer, click here:
http://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/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!