I look forwards to meeting some of you for the seminar on Friday. Hopefully it will be an interesting day, with some share prices having tanked I guess part of the day will be looking at a list of potential bargains! More further down...

Also booked two new seminar dates, you can come and spend a day with me and live trading on either June 25th or July 16th , you decide! More details below, they will be the last till a lot later this year.

For details, email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with either "June seminar interested" in the subject line or "July seminar interested".

We're getting very excited about the Silver Jubilee on the Thames here in early June.

Lucky for us we are right on the river where the boats will be stationed.

Right now they appear to be putting out lots of yellow buoys which seems to mark out a parking slot for each of the boats before they set off.

My sister (the clever one who owns 5 West End theatres) is very excited about it and she is coming over with her husband. He's going to do the food. Which as he's a very good cook is something even more to look forwards to.

And we'll have a couple of friends who are staying over...

Then... later... once the boats have gone we are all invited to a street party! It's going to be some day, can we possibly hope for great weather? Please???

Meanwhile Christopher already saw the Queen herself this week, she came to Richmond Park - the kids all got to wave.

And she, er, well, waved back. Go, Queen.

Christopher can hardly fit into his bed: that's because his cuddly toy collection has reached at least 50.

Every night I have to make an award for the "man of the match" . Whichever toy gets the award gets the chance to sleep next to him!

So I thought I would take him to see some real animals and we went along to the Pet Show at Earls Court.

We don't have a pet at the moment.

My beautiful cat Domino sadly died a few months ago. I never said anything here. That's because I didn't want an email box full of commiserations however kind and thoughtful you readers might have meant them.

It would have made me even more upset than I already was then. And please, can I ask no "sorry" mails? It's just that I don't really want to re-live it all again and even nice mails might upset me. Thanks!

She'd been with me for 23 years so she had a good innings and must have been one of the oldest cats in Britain when she died.

The day itself I will never forget, lucky we have a vet friend who came and put Domino down. I struggled to keep her alive for a few weeks but when I realised she was in pain it had to be the end. We had some great times and I still miss her terribly.

I still often rewind the last few moments of her life in my head. It is awful. She was a very kind cat, even to birds...

I'm not quite ready for a new cat yet. Maybe another six months or a year. But we met some lovely cats at the show including some Asian breeds which are quite amazing.

The Ragdolls are very sweet too. However I suspect when we eventually get a new cat it'll be from a home which is where I got Domino.

The cat people there seem to dedicate their lives to cats and can talk about them all day long. One has a whole heap of photos with places she has been with her cat. And many of the cats have won awards.

We also saw some amazing dogs and there was a live dog show where dogs have to jump over obstacles etc.

It is delightful to see humans and animals interacting so brilliantly. The intelligent understanding between dog and human is amazing.

There also all kinds of other animals on show from ferrets to birds and even hedgehogs!

However I did wish I had worn a T shirt stating "I do not currently have a pet".

This might have helped me fend off the pushy salespeople trying to flog me pet insurance.

I guess they just didn't buy the line "I don't have a pet" from someone attending a pet show..

Though we didn't get any live animals Christopher managed to win a cuddly toy in a lucky dip to add a cuddly dog toy to his collection.

And of course I had to make the new dog... Man of the Match! Lucky dog!

I look forwards to meeting some of you at my seminar in just two days time on Friday!
I always end up enjoying them. Every one ends up being a bit different as it all depends on who is there and sometimes there are some very different roads we end up in.

This time a lot of share prices have come down. I always remember in seminars over the years the best time to buy was always after a sell off. Anyhow I have a long list of potential bargains to mull over...

Quite a few beginners coming to this one so there will be a beginners session, I really enjoy the basics.

And often seminars are also great for my trading as inevitably in all that time some shares come up that I might not otherwise have spotted and researched.

In the years I've been doing them I remember some fantastic ones popping on screens, the best one was the seminar where Mulberry kept appearing at 250... I remember buying the following Monday and although I sold out too early at 950 it was a tremendous profit. And the other really good one was Dialight that was 150 at the seminar and pushes 800 now. Microgen was also a goodie I remember.

So selfishly hoping to discover something new myself on Friday! With the markets coming down a lot there are quite a few tempting bargains around and I have a whole heap of ideas.

Those of you coming on Friday doors open 9.30am... follow the signs to Naked Trader..

Please come and register first from 9.30am and then find a seat - coffees will be...(there waiting for you..... And there's another load of coffee and tea and snacks due to arrive at 11am.

Hopefully something nice for lunch (maybe fish and chips or a curry) and then more snacks a bit later.

Please do not worry if you are late, it's easy to get delayed Mrs NT will direct you to a seat.

Grab a coffee and just relax, I promise to be gentle with you all. I hope you all enjoy the day, as it's live from the markets who knows what will come up. And as you know I talk plain English with none of that idiotic jargon.

For those of you who missed it I have two new dates to offer, June 25th or July 16th, you can now book either. Those will be the last till a lot later in the year.

And the good news is at this early stage there is a decent discount for early bookers for either event.

For details, email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with either "June seminar interested" in the subject line or "July seminar interested". I'll send you everything that I cover and all about he day itself. In a short time you could be (I hope) enjoying a day with me and live markets.

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'm getting quite a few mails from those of you who've been to my seminars asking if I'd do another follow up.

Honestly? I'm feeling lazy about it - however if enough of you want one I will do it and the hotel has a spare room on Mon June 11th.

So if you think you might want to come to an all day live level 2, research and finding new ideas live session, mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Follow up interested" in the subject line - I'll then judge if there are enough of you interested to do it or not. You must have been to a previous seminar of mine to qualify for the day.

The all new edition of my book Naked Trader 3 is out now !!!

Lots of new strategies including my top 20, lots more mistakes to avoid, loads of new trader tales, cartoons and a bit of fun too.

I hope you all enjoy it - and can tell I put a lot of effort into it and I really hope if it just stops one person from making the mistakes I did it will be worthwhile.

Indeed I hope the book is worth it even if you read about other people's stories, it is amazing how so many make exactly the same mistakes.

Anyhow if you buy it I hope you enjoy it! Click here:
http://books.global-investor.com/books/818560.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

** My book about spreadbetting , you can order it here:

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

---

I read an excellent stock market thriller on holiday,

"The Fear Index" by Robert Harris.

A maths genius joins a hedge fund and together they create a monster trading robot giving it billions to play with.

The robot starts to short everything and starts to cause massive market crashes. Then takes on a mind of its own.

Plenty of excellent page turning stuff here, if you are a trader or investor a lot of it will ring true with the robots almost already in charge of some shares!

There's tons of drama and action and I couldn't put it down though it helps as it is a thriller about the markets!

If you're into the markets you'll love it.. here's an order link to the book:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/860358/Robert-Harris-/The-Fear-Index/

Enjoy the read!!

Want to know what my last monthly elec/gas/phone/broadband/mobile phone bill was for me and Mrs NT?
What so you reckon? £250? £300?
Nope, wrong. Nothing at all. In fact, a CREDIT of £67 on my bill!
How so? Well, Utility Discount Warehouse offers 10% off your energy bill every year as long as you have 1,500 Telecom Plus shares.
But how do you fancy getting that same whopping 10% discount off the whole of your energy spend for the whole of your first year? Ie your last month will probably be free! You don't need to own any shares, just sign up with UDW services and do it via myself, and you also get my weekly email which is the website stuff direct to your inbox PLUS exclusive higher risk trades made for my pension!
All you have to do is take four services - choose from homephone, broadband, electricity, gas, mobile phone and the amazing discount and my email is all yours. AND you can't lose as there is a "double the difference" promise. That is you are guaranteed to save money by swiitching or they will give you back double the difference.
So by signing up you get the UK's cheapest home phone, homephone and broadband bundle, mobile tarrif and cheapest gas and electric. AND instead of getting loads of different bills from different companies there is just one bill for the lot!
And if you think switching is a pain in the bum, think again. It's easy, a few clicks on a website. On top of all those savings there are loads of other ways to add even bigger savings too.
Want to go for it? To sign up via me and get all those benefits and my email go to this web address only
www.utilitywarehouse.org.uk/fabdeal

and sign up directly there - you can also read about alll the services and how much you might save!
Once you have signed up, just let me know and tell me what your customer number is (they will send you your number) and you get my email! I get ongoing commission in return, you save money!
I use all the services myself, and have done for many years. You get a UK call centre with calls answered quickly and a monthly bill.
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.utilitywarehouse.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/

I use IG Index for betting on the very small companies, the only spreadbet firm I can find that does the smaller ones making it possible to trade AIM cos tax free.

To sign up and get an excelllent weekly education programme use this link:

www.igindex.com/nakedtrader

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 £145 inc vat via me instead of £173.71
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 MONDAY JUNE 25TH AND MONDAY JULY 16TH 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 EITHER June 25th or July 16th

Price is £590 plus vat. There is an early bookers discount available for either event.

That includes three course lunch, coffees, snacks etc.
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 "June seminar interested" or "July 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/

I just don't know. Are people really that interested in the goings on at Leveson?

I suppose all it shows is those in the public spotlight as just as stupid, idiotic and greedy as the rest of us.

But the main finding was David Cameron didn't know LOL was laugh out loud. OMG ! ROFL ! MOT ! VAT !
The raising to 80 on motorways seems reasonable, most do 80 already so in effect it puts it up to 90. I doubt it will lead to any more accidents while allowing those in today's very safe cars to get places quicker.

But more attention needs to be paid to middle lane hoggers. You know the ones, middle lane all the way at 65-70.

Their reason if you ask them will be well the speed limit is 70 so no one should be overtaking us..

But the hoggers lead to massive delays and danger as frustrated drivers undertake.

It should be made a much bigger part of the driving test.

And I suggest massive signs on all M-ways "Stay in left hand lane unless overtaking - Penalty £120.

This would lead to much less congestion - and safer M-ways.

Terrible news this week.. Virgin Airlines are going to allow mobile phones to be used on its flights!

What a disaster, plane flights are bad enough as they are and now you could be sitting next to someone who spends the whole time gassing on their mobile.

"I'm on the plane!!!"

Think I'm joking? It won't be long before they all allow it and the whole plane will be full of people talking away.

There is only one thing for it: Phone free cabins. I'll pay extra.

Why can't people shut up for just a few minutes and have a bit of quiet time? No wonder everyone's tired.

Ahhh, great to see the dancing dog win BGT.

Not quite sure really that Pudsey's owner deserved half a mill but still, lots of hard work and really lovely to see it.

And as I had a mighty decent spreadbet on them, I was pretty excited when they won! (And I won £400).

As for the rest of the acts, well, I dunno, quite honestly, I'd be happy to fast forward through most of the performances.

Because well, let's be honest they were all kind of okay, but well, I'm a bit weary of dance groups. None of them were anywhere near as good as Diversity. They're all pretty similar. But I have to balance that by still admiring the kids who get up and do it.

The two opera kids were great.

But I do wonder whether BGT should be closed off to solo singers. There are just too many of them. And surely they have the X Factor and The Voice.

So next time how about BGT is for any act except solo singers?

The Apprentice. Well, there is not much decent bickering this time is there? Come to think of it I don't remember much about the last episode.

Perhaps the format is nearly worn out. Even Lord Sir Alan is struggling to put on his angry act and is coming across more like a kindly uncle.

The tasks seem a bit meaningless given we all know our Lord probably already knows which business proposal he fancies.

Perhaps it's time to change the format here somehow more focussed on the business ideas the contestants have.

Anyway it's investigating white wine tonight. They go to Tescos. Hmmm..

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.

Anne writes :
Agree about facebook - the youngsters who leapt onboard when it started,
posting dire photos of them doing things they shouldn't are now grown up and
getting on in their careers and errrrrr wondering if that photo of them
mooning in the disco in Majorca was a good idea!

Nice to think I am not the only unsociable grump to not want to follow the
minutiae of my friends and colleagues mostly boring lives!

I am in the states just now and feel the Starbucks asking name thing is just
more marketing bollocks to get them noticed. If they just speeded up the
service I might go there but americans seem to need all this 'service
bollocks' to make them think they are getting their moneys worth.

Thanks Anne,
well of course I agree, it's nearly all bollocks!

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.
Gabriel writes:
If you are reading this, you are perhaps considering going on one of Robbie's Seminars. You maybe asking yourself (like I did) the testimonials are all well and good but once the euphoria and excitement of attending a Seminar has died down ..... and I am back home in my normal routine and faced with the "graft" of putting it all into practice... will I become a better trader and be financially better off?
Let me tell you that in my case it certainly has!
Book your place pretty sharpish....... is what I say !

Thanks Gabriel!

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, through me it is only £350 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £473 direct from advfn inc vat so this deal saves you over a whopping £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. So if you get level 2 and want to learn how to use it properly live, book my seminar!

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £74 pa - available from me for only £50! (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 £145 inc vat via me instead of £173.71
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

If you've lost money in the last two weeks, (okay you DID lose money!) or at least paper profits well, if it is any consolation you are probably beating the top trading computer.

Yes, the trading computer at hedge fund Man obviously hasn't understood its programmers.

They must have told it to lose money. That must be it.

It has lost shedloads of money, not just in the last two weeks were I guess there are excuses but over a long time too leaving Man's share price in the doldrums.

So, there you are. You probably at least beat a computer - and a "top" hedge fund!

The Greece/Euro debacle drags on making life very difficult.

Even yesterday I had Sky News on in the background. "Markets have been nicely up this morning.."

I just knew what she was going to say next. "But Greece...."" Arrrggghh, where's the off button?

It is annoying when you know you have a good profitable company with loads of cash yet it gets hit with everything else on indiscriminate selling.

It's like someone somewhere saying something or not suddenly has a massive effect on your holdings.

Problem with everyone spreadbetting and CFD ing on credit is they all get calls from bookies demanding money.

They then close positions rather than paying up.. then stop losses get hit and of course yet more shares get dumped on the market - it matters not whether the company is good or crap.

In a way perhaps there is good to come out of this current mess is newer traders at least will realise not to take out so much credit. I do really feel firms should offer much reduced credit to customers, particularly in their first year so that they don't burn up.

Their crashing and burning leads to a lot of the volatilty.

Anyhow it remains another tough week. We humans are funny with our emotions.

When shares go down for many days in a row we cannot imagine then ever going up again and assume gloomily we are rubbish traders and will lose all our money.

When they continue to go up we are masters of the universe, and nothing could ever go wrong! Emotion can swing so easily.

If Greece is sorted out to the satisfaction of the markets watch for a quick and mad rise. Thing is we don't know if and when this is going to be sorted and till it is you need to stay calm, focussed and ensure you don't have too much in spreadbets and the like.

But you do wonder when you see last night the new French boss saying "We need to spend" and the German boss saying "we need to save" how on earth any agreement on anything is going to be reached.

And until agreements can be made between countries the market will stay rocky. However the FTSE is going back up today so maybe there is some hope!

However I do wonder with all the fear about whether it is nearly time to get in and buy some bargains which are appearing all over the place which should make for a very easy seminar for me on Friday! I have a whole list of ideas which I'll be going through.

But for now I continue with the same theme as last time: a continued clear out ahead of my summer of writing a blockbuster (hey you never know).

As mentioned last time I want a nice summer of writing, racing and Wimbledon with the markets in the background for a change. For that I need loads of cash, not too many positions so I don't have to worry.

So if I miss a summer upsurge, it doesn't matter. I'm not greedy. I think I'd have done this anyway.

I've been looking around for a share that might see me nicely through the summer without having to worry about it too much, ie not volatile, something that is growing without big debt worries. And something that at the very least probably won't take me by surprise with a nasty warning out of the blue.

One that seems to fit the bill for me then is NMC Health (NMC) which provides healthcare across the United Arab Emirates..

Yesterday's statement looked promising, all its divisions are growing well and it has plenty of cash for capital projects.

All which says to me a nice long-term tuckaway - I'll probably pick up a few more later this week. I bought an initial 2,000 shares at 199.75.

I couldn't quite resist a shorter-term trade (probably) in Chime (CHW). I sold it for a profit at 247 in late January and again at 198 last week. I suddenly saw it on my screen at below 150 and bought a few at 145.25. It's come down because it put out a confusing statement that one division is going to make less profit. Don't you hate it when companies suddenly say something isn't going well then don't give any figures? Anyway a quick benefit of the doubt here: WPP is buying up shares and maybe a chance for them to get some cheap ones. Tight stop here though in case but they do look oversold.

I've been making some money from the downside using FTSE 100 short spreadbets and the DB supershort for the ISA (See Naked Trader 3 for more on that, it goes up nearly twice as much as the FTSE goes down and has made me some nice profit in the ISA but generally should only be used short term).

So more profit and loss taking, topslicing and building up the cash position for reasons above. So another (and probably the final) massive clearout..

I haven't sold the lot of most of these but they were picked either because they are too volatile, or I had too many and wanted to scale down.

I got reminded why I don't deal much in risky oil shares! Beh mentioned the word "water" which meant an immediate final exit from me for a loss of £1,700 at 37. Those of you get my pension mail at least know I sold half at 52, but I take the full hit for the site. I topsliced some Zotefoams at 172 for a profit of £880, MS went at 265 for a profit of £2,550, cap at 72 for a loss of £980 and £312 Apr at 948 for a profit of £182. Bab went at 867 for a profit of £750. Ken, some at 399 for loss of £635, Low and B, 57.5, profit £1060.

All that clearing out leaves a profit of £1,795.

That now leaves me with a more lightweight and managable portfolio, tons of cash to pick off bargains or anything crazily oversold.

Thank goodness I took a whole heap of profit in March and April though. While the current melee has lost me some paper profit it's still been a good year.

After topslicing last week, Coastal reported a decent inline set of results. Looks a very nice long-term hold and I'll keep hold of the rest of them where I've still doubled. Despite the lower oil price this one looks worth holding. Any further weakness and I'll top up. After all, this one really makes profits and it actually has some oil!

It's nice to have some long-termers that hold their value or at least don't tank much even in a meltdown.

Telecom Plus of course is one, has hardly moved. Of course it is a defensive. I expect to be in it for another 5 years or so and enjoy the income and the capital gain where I think the best is yet to come. It's my largest holding by someway, over £250,000 worth and lots of income via dividends.

Vislink shares have held their own quite well after some large buying last week. The brilliant Nicols stays steady around 7 quid.It is a lovely little long-term share. Hoping for an eventual bid there. Brought this one up at a few seminars. GB has taken a little hit on profit taking, however I think I'll stay with it. Long-term there is still more value.

Carpetshite continues to defy gravity and remains the most expensive share on the market. I really can't believe it has not tanked, quite amazing but maybe there is something I don't know.

My two drug companies BTG (BGC) and Vectura have held up reasonably well..both have a very decent pipeline. Costain remains in a loss but it has support at 2 quid.

Dialight has come back a bit though I don't feel worried. I have been patient all the way from 150p! as those of you who have to my seminars have seen from my accounts my profits in real life are something like £90,000. For the website profits are more than £50,000 - and of course there have been dividends on top.
Long-termer Carclo seems to be settling around 350-400 for now. I already trebled on it so happy there. Seems to hold okay as does IP Group. IP has a more than 20% holding in Oxford Nanopore which has made the world's first hand held DNA sequencer, probably worth a fortune for the company. Greencore

LOQ reported trials in the US had gone well this week causing the share price to head back up towards the three level. Might stay here for a while but should remain a long-term winner giving me a treble.

Let's see what the next week brings. I really would not be surprised if the market tanked some more or started to recover much higher. For now though I'm starting to take it easy.

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. Also with this link there is an excellent education programme and it offers the biggest range of smaller shares.

www.Igindex.com/nakedtrader
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!
****
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 Wednesday afternoons under "Markets" section..