I'm starting the bank hol weekend early which sad to say means no update on Friday. Hey, you'll live, get over it already.
I shall be spending a lot of Friday at a place called Legoland with a certain youngster of mine hoping I don't have to go on any of those horrible rides.

I don't mind being a wimp and admitting they scare me. I'm no hero. I think he's too young for them. Bob The Builder's going to be there apparently.
In fact we have lots planned for a fun BH weekend. Monday, BH itself we're off to Kempton Park races with friends for their family day out. I got married at Kempton Park races so it's nice and nostalgic too!
Whatever you're up to have a great time, relax and forget about shares.. I'll be back as usual next week.
Tomorrow night I'm off for a "Poker night" with about 8 blokes. I was invited by a city bloke, husband of one of Mrs NT's friend who works for a large bank.
"It's texas holdem," he said. "You bring £80 and then you can buy some more chips later. Then we have beer and pizza then we play some more."
"I've never played before," I said. "Is that ok?" A pause on the line. I think I may have said something good. "No problem" he said. "Maybe look it up on the net."
There was then a further email which said I ought to actually probably oughtta consider bringing £200. At least.
Do they have stop losses in poker?

Ok, well I'm going to have £200 taken off me by some bankers. I'm sure the entertainment will be worth it..
When a bloke who has never been to my place before arrives he looks a bit expectant.
He thinks: "Robbie must have some amazing supa dupa screens with the latest technology.. he must have something really cool what with all that trading he does."
The moment he sees my office you can see the look of disappointment.
Just a naff old Dell and a laptop, and an old cat sitting on a desk - not even a big screen!! No I Phone!! No Blackberry! Don't ask me where the mobile is either, probably in the washing machine again.
When I explain what I do (after removing the cat's bum from the keyboard, it's warm, see) I can still see the frowns. What is he doing with an ancient machine?
One visitor had the courage to voice concerns. "Goodness, I thought you'd have a MUCH bigger screen than that. And maybe at least TWO screens!"
Call me an old fart if you like ("You old fart") but I don't feel the need for any of it.
At every seminar someone comes up to me and gives me a look of pity. He usually says something like: "I can't believe you use Vista - get an apple!"
Then usually in the last break, someone comes up, shakes their head and starts fiddling with my laptop usually trying to put in something exciting sounding like Fozmilla Firefox or something...
Anyway I have been seduced at last - we went to John Lewis and I decided it was time for something new.
When someone visits no longer will I feel shame because I will have ... oh yes... hang on if I say what it is I just know I am going to get 100s of e-mails telling me why I shouldn't have bought that system. I can see them now:
"Are you crazy? You should have bought the new supawongahighdefinedsexysmoothenormousgreatblueberrybasher"
All I'll tell you is it was about £1,200 and it's quite big, everything's on the screen, no wires and I can get the telly on it!! That's the end of my trading, I'll watch telly instead. Is Cash In The Attic any good?
Oh, it's also got a 4gb RAM oooohhh!! Blu ray player - gasp!!! And wait for it GE Force Graphics!!! Wow!!!
I just hope I can work the damn thing and as long as I can get the internet on it I'll be happy. I'll let you know in the next update how me and it are getting along. Maybe we'll be pals, maybe we'll fight.
It was great to meet some of you for the day on Saturday at the follow-up technical analysis seminar.
Really good to see so many old friends - those of you who already came to my normal seminars. Some of you are doing really well and very pleased about that.
Furthest traveller came from Abu Dhabi although Prestwick I guess ran a fair second!
Interesting to hear so many trading stories and it was fun to analyse so many charts and a big thanks to top trader Susan for all her interesting, brilliant presentations - and making it so simple. She did brilliantly and there was so much good feedback on the event. We're both delighted you enjoyed it and we'll be doing another.
You qualify for a follow up TA seminar with me and Susan if you've been to one of my normal seminars.. if you're interested in the next follow-up seminar probably this autumn do let me know. I certainly learned a lot!
My next seminar on May 15th is just about sold out. I can just maybe squeeze in one or two more but it's just about done.
If you really want to come, mail me urgently at robbiethetrader@aol.com for details with "Seminar interested" in the subject line.

Otherwise booking is now open for the seminar after May which is going to be on Friday June 26th at Heathrow.

And even better there is again an early booker discount for that! if you'd like to come to June's event please mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "June seminar interested" in the subject line. And I will send you details.

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!

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

ONE SEAT LEFT!!!

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/

Gordon Brown's Youtube video looks even sillier now. This desperate man gets, well, more and more desperate to be loved.
Only 4,000 people clicked on his MP salary video yet 650,000 watched the Brown picking his nose one instead!
Hilariously Brown censored Youtube users by not allowing them to comment - "adding comment has been disabled from this video".
So we have the Government on a freedom of speech website promoting transparency and an open government while stopping any proper debate on the topic from its own people. Typical.
I get the feeling the flu epidemic is being hyped up a bit by the media, especially the independent media which wants better figures.
And nothing better than a scare story - the BBC seems a bit more restrained. Let's hope of course it fizzles out.
Showing how stupid the 50% tax band is,Treasury officials have admitted that the Government would lose out on billions of pounds of revenue as they expected high earners to sidestep the 50 per cent tax rate

Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee, Mike Williams, the director of personal tax at the Treasury, said that the Government expected to receive only 31 per cent of the possible total income from the tax increase announced in the Budget.

The Chancellor said last week that the 50p income tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 would raise £1.1 billion, but figures revealed yesterday suggest that he expects to lose £2.5 billion as many of the 350,000 higher earners take action to avoid, through legal means, paying the rate by working fewer hours or moving abroad.

The Chancellor said last week that the 50p income tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 would raise £1.1 billion, but figures revealed yesterday suggest that he expects to lose £2.5 billion as many of the 350,000 higher earners take action to avoid, through legal means, paying the rate by working fewer hours or moving abroad.

Now a reminder of how little will be raised against the number of job creators who will leave the country and the number of jobs that will be lost..

Our amazingly brilliant Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has decided against plans for an email database tracking all mails phone calls and net activity.
Hurrah! What a waste of money that would be, it's stupid anyway and we can't afford it.. but wait a minute!

"Records of every electronic communication will be held by private companies" now wait for it at a cost of
£2 Billion!!!! £2 billion!!!!
Isn't that, er, about twice the money that will be raised from the 50% tax rate. Is that it?!!
She says the money is well spent to "track murderers and tackle crime"
As if murderers gaily write on their e-mail to someone : "Yes I did it!" People who've got things to hide or want to discuss things DON'T SEND IT ON EMAIL!! Do they?!
What a waste of money. How many extra policemen could we buy for £2 billion?
Say £50k each, that's going to be an awful lot of themn isn't it? Couldn't you build a hospital or three for that?
Renewing our nuclear deterrent is going to cost a massive £20bln. ID cards £5bln I could go on.. there are an awful lot of savings that could be made and it's not happening. Don't they know about the recession?
Goodie, the Apprentice tonight...
This time the plonkers have to sell ten items of tatt. It should be hilarious. Can't wait!!

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.

Rodger writes:
Good to read that you are doing ok in these financial turbulent times.
Take a daily aspirin! They help to avoid heart problems!
Life has thrown me a curve ball. I have just come out of hospital having. I suffered a heart attack and me only 56! Looks like I will make a good recovery and will be able to lead a full life. No particular reason for it. I reckon
I was just one of the 0.5% who are likely to get a heart attack despite all having all the right boxes ticked in the health check list etc. So, now I have 6 - 7 weeks
to get back up to speed and I will be popping a few pills now for the rest of my life. Hey ho.
The time off work will give me a chance to get my portfolio sorted and make some life changing decisions. Life is too short to hang around waiting. So, plans I be a making to do some travelling and see some sights soonerrather than later.

Hi Rodger.
So sorry to hear about the attack at such a young age, it could happen to anyone. I suppose we al ought to imagine the same had happened to us and live each day as well as possible. Life is indeed to short to hang about waiting.
My wife's dad had an attack a couple of years ago at 68 and is living life to the full. And it sounds like you're going to do the same. All the best for seeing the sights and let us know how you get on..

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...

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That piggin' flu virus is a real swine. It brought uncertainty back into the market just when things were going ok. But more by luck than anything else I didn't hold any travel or transport shares.
Right now (and I know nothing) I think it's more likely that fears will slowly fizzle out as I take the view media organisations tend to hype these things up.
So I made a brave (or stupid) buy on this basis and bought some BA! (BAY) I thought that as the shares have been hit because of a virus that might not become widespread it could recover well. Hey I never ever bought BA before. Wish me luck.
Anyway I picked up 1,500 at 143.3 and on the spreads for £50 at 138.2 . (The reason the spread price is lower is I did a June spread and so the next dividend is in the price). So far it's paid off, however if the problems escalate it could be a big loser.. so I need to be careful. Target 160 stop 135. The idea is really just a short-term trade on flu virus worries easing. If they don't I need to get out!
I love topping up on winners as you know and XP Power (XPP) has continued going up strongly and up nearly 50 pts there. I liked the break through 200 so bought a further 1,500 at 204. Target 245 stop 165.
The chief exec of XPP has just snapped up 20,000 shares - a very good sign - weaker pound is helping to boost profit says The Times in a story today - the breakup looks bullish to me for at least another 15%.
I picked up some PV Crystalox PVCS) on the spreads for £50 at 105. Looks like there is some decent buying coming in here. Made some money on this one before. Target 120 stop 98. It's in a good sector and I think has the legs to go higher.
Charter's (CHTR) been sitting in an obvious trading range of late 400s to 550s so picked up another spread tenner at 490 to add to current holding. Plan is to take profits at 550 ish for a short-term trade.
I've been taking some profits or part profits but really wish I hadn't as most of the shares I took profits on are higher than where I sold. Poo!
Hands up who sold half their Fenner way too early? Yes, me!! I sold half at 59 last week only to see the price rise to 82 today! I think they look fairly valued now and on that basis I sold the rest at 76 for a profit of £973.
And now it's gone up even more than that. Doh! Honestly the amount of times I take profits too early even though I think I sometimes hold shares for too long!
So I took half profits on SDL too early too, selling half at 325 for a profit of £540. It's higher than that as I write so topslicing could be a mistake. Good statement though and I remain with the other half.
I also top sliced a little New Brit (the 650) at 382.46 taking out the last pos for a profit of £443 . However still holding the rest and hoping for a rise to over 400 at least. All depends on the palm prices.
So total profits taken for the site today are £1,956.
Elsewhere the portfolio continues to do really well with tons of huge winners, shan't bore you again with my angst re.. "I should be selling now..."
I have so many shares that have doubled, nearly doubled or trebled!! Doublers or near doublers include Dragon Oil, Heritage, RBS, Unite, Galiform, and Barclays is close to trebling. Just brilliant though all still on paper!
Heritage remains the biggest winner after Barclays, more than doubled on the first lot and the other positions look good too. Results are out this week so volatility is inevitable. Alterian remains on the march upwards - interesting to see whether it can crack 100 and good profits building here. .
My bid target favourite from the last seminar Microgen is quietly but surely heading back upwards. It's the quiet little risers than often end up producing the best profits. Market makers seem reluctant to sell stock too which is always good news.
A decent statement by Dragon has seen those shares lift today and I've now nearly doubled my money there! Goodness me I've nearly trebled my money on Barclays!
Nearly doubled on RBS now, a really big rise today. Galiform is getting close to a double.. rumours persist of a possible bid from Travis Perkins.
Workspace is nicely higher, just waiting for the seller at 15.5 to leave the building!
Recent buys Celsis and Hardy Oil both doing fine and rising nicely though Hardy is very volatile
Hunting is going well as is good old Petrofac .. Morse has been weird. I just stayed with it after the warning because of the good support at 9. It's just kept rising since then and now bizzarely I'm in a good profit. Must be something going to happen there?
l like the look of the slow but steady rises in Carclo - I think I have a potential doubler there.
So all in all remain delighted with the huge profits sitting there. However they are all only "on paper" and maybe I continue to be crazy not to press the take profits button.
The flu virus remains a bit of a threat to the markets if it gets worse so I obviously have to keep an eye on that and of course with so many profits sitting there perhaps I am crazy not to bank some more. The other worry is bank stress test results in the US on May 4th. Greed just about outweighs fear for me right now but believe me, I can get fearful very quickly!
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!
****
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!