** 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
** NEXT UPDATE ON WEDNESDAY

Okay do you want the good news or the bad news first?
A bad news first type eh? Yes, me too.
Right well the bad news is the site is going to updated once a week from now on instead of twice. On Wednesdays.
The good news? Well, I'd been considering stopping updates altogether. So at least you'll get me once a week and I'll definitely carry on till the end of the year at least.
The reason for the change is I trade from home to buy myself time. And recently the site has generated such a big workload for me that instead of a pleasant hobby it was becoming more like a full-time job.
So I am hoping the once a week is going to generate less response and so less workload for me so I can start enjoying it again. If it proves the case then the website will continue for a lot longer. It was either once a week or nothing at this stage!
The other good news is I will try my best to update once a week even if it's half term or something like that.
So there you are, that's the news out of the way. I hope you understand. And if it at some point I find I really don't want to do this anymore at all I will give about 3 months notice!
Christopher came up to me this morning, did a strange dance and sang "Wake up in the morning feeling like a pizza..."
Then kept singing it. I'm sure I knew what it was, something he must have heard at school.
I then twigged what it was! It was Kesha's Tik Tok.
Which actually starts "Wake up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy" Ie NOT feeling like pizza!
Lucky just as he asked me what a P Diddy was he was whisked off to school. Because honestly I can't remember who P Diddy is. Maybe he had a hit once. Actually it's a very catchy song and now it'll be going through my head all day! Do NOT click on this link to listen. You have been warned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP6XpLQM2Cs
I'm taking him to see his first ever football game on Sunday, we are off next door to watch Fulham beat Arsenal 2-1.
We've got seats in Row B right behind one of the goals. We'll wave, see if you can spot us on Match of the Day!
He's got his Fulham kit ready. I am ready to cover his ears when someone inevitably shouts something like "Oi, ref, you're a

---

***** ****"
We can come home for tea and cake at half time. Because there is no way I am eating one of those grotty Fulham hot dogs. Urrrhhhhhhhh
We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the country at the weekend so I could quietly recover from talking non stop about shares for 12 hours...
It wasn't bad. But after watching "3 in a Bed" about b and b's I couldn't help myself. Yes, there was dust on top of the cupboard and, yikes.... a pube in the shower!!
Never mind we had a nice walk around Sussex countryside. It was amusing coming across a local "farm shop" - the main produce appears to have been flown in from around the world...
Got back from dinner in time to see a snatch of all the Eurovision Song Contest songs. When I saw the Azerbahjan one I leapt up exclaiming "That's it! And I got a bet on with Sporting Index and Betfair and ended up with a very big win!
Wouldn't it be nice if the world was run like the contest? Everyone being nice to each other? Supporting each other? Instead of being like an advfn bulletin board!
I was at the seminar hotel after setting the room up and it was quite fun watching the Sky News and BBC reporters doing their live stuff just outside my room. They were covering the end of the BA strike news.
Just one camera and one tecchie each. The Sky news guy spent a lot of time practising his script. the BBC lady didn't and spend her time sunbathing and drinking starbucks.
It was fun watching them go to air, and they were both really good.
"Live from Heathrow" That means live from the car park of a hotel outside Heathrow. Interesting that neither reporter talked to the other and indeed they ignored each other's presence.
But you wonder why they bother with these "live" reports. These reporters really might just as well be in the studio.
They were in the bit where plane spotters spend their weekend jotting down plane numbers. There's always one fat one with one thin one.
Thanks to those of you who came to the seminar on Friday.
An absolutely lovely crowd of people. Well, except I just couldn't get rid of them and it ended up being the latest finish ever!
I think this one was probably one of my favourite seminars ever with lots of interesting things happening all day on the markets.
And I now realise how many interesting new ideas I get myself from the seminars which I suspect I would have been to lazy to discover at home!
In fact I think I've made my most money from things discovered at seminars so they are very good for me. The best Dialight 150 to 700 and Mulberry 200 to 1000.
Thanks to David for the garlic fresh from his French garden and thanks to Bill for the amazing whisky. Given I tried hard to embarrass him over his birthday (and something else) I was lucky to get it!
The curry for lunch was rather good I thought and seemed to concentrate the mind for the level 2 we did in the afternoon. I thought the research part in the evening went really well and I was amazed with the amount of fascinating stuff that came up.
Some of those who came came up with some really interesting comments and analysis too and all in all, I felt it was a great session.
I hope some of you got home before 2am!
I do think many of you saw the benefits of learning about level 2 and the order book and how it all works and the tricks I showed you to play before you buy or sell anything.
And thanks for the lovely feedback which I won't publish as it makes me look like a self-absorbed t*** but I did read it all your feedback and was very happy about it.
It makes the seminars very rewarding for me to think I can get some of you on the right path. It's an amazing feeling for me to see lightbulbs flashing above heads and also that you are all going away I hope with more discipline and a better idea of how to plan and execute trades and time them. I do wish you all the very best in your trading or more accurately, investing endeavours.
If you missed this one, never fear as I've booked a date for my next seminar which will be on
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 a very decent early booking discount
for you to claim!

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!

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.

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.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/

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 JUNE 24TH 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 June 24th

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/

Of course the most important news of the week is that Danni Minogue has been chucked off the X Factor panel.
Oh no! What shall we do? This story is of course much more important than anything else going on in tthe world.
The Government has hired Mary Portas off the telly to try and find out how to rescue the high street.
That's easy. Rents are too high for anyone bar chains. So all we will ever get now are chains. Independents are all struggling.
And parking. It's impossible to park near local shops unless you pay a fortune. Half an hour or an hour's parking ought to be free.
Interesting how Sweden solved its mini recession. it cut taxes.
Cutting taxes in the end produces more productivity, more work, and in the end, more tax take!
I would slash tax to 20% and 35% for higher payers. Jobs would be created, growth would start and those that create the money in the first place will be more motivated. And people would immediately feel better - and that would feed into a feel good factor that would lift the ecomony. So there.
The Apprentice continues to entertain though Does our Lord really have to keep telling is how amazing he was back in the 60s when he got out his barrow and .... yawn.
Let's face facts. Amstrad never really did that much except produce computers that weren't much good, boxes that weren't great either and indeed it was only ever a stock market small cap. it never made much money. Our Lord made his money out of property.
That aside watching these plonkers doing and saying plonkerish things remains highly amusing.
What is shows as ever is the people that talk the most do the least. And the more jargon and long words and jibberish they talk, again, the more useless they are.
This generally is the same as stock market experts. The more they talk the less they really know.
Anyway tonight they have to pick stuff for the new Savoy Hotel. Rather clever of the Savoy to engineer an amazing free peak time plug on the BBC!
Can the boys team lose again? I wouldn't bet against it!
It's nice the Queen is visiting Ireland and all and I know it's historic and fabulous but I was stuck in the gym with just Sky News on. And no end to the coverage which frankly is a right yawn.
Honestly, the boredom. Queen gets out of car. Queen talks to loads of blokes. Then more. Queen signs a bit of paper. Then soldiers march. The excitement was nearly too much for me. For the first time ever I was glad when the ad breaks come on.
Even if it is Michael Parkinson trying to flog me dodgy insurance I don't need in return for a Parker pen!
Although one question bugs me. What happens if the Queen suddenly needs the loo? (Assuming she does go).
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

Well, they simply continue to be flat in a tight range with no clear direction for the time being.
Which is fine for my kind of trading. I have around 15 shares sitting on a shortlist waiting for the right time to buy which those who came to last friday's seminar had a look at. Some I would like to buy a bit lower down so I guess I wouldn't mind a few bad fear days to get them where I want them! However I have bought one or two where it could be the right time to buy and maybe I don't need to wait.
I like "ahead of" statements and so bought into seminar shortlist share TT Electonics (TTG) getting 2,000 shares at 201.76. Some very nice bullish statements coming out of this one. I have no fear in buying this one despite the fact it already has gone up a lot. Who cares, as long as it carries on like this it could be soon worth a lot more. T 250 stop 170.
I've also topped up in Norcros (NXR) which is already going well for me - I go another 3,000 at 14.75. This company is going really well and I had little hesitation in a top up, there looks another 20% upside from here so I'm looking for about 18p. Maybe more if I'm patient with it. There's a seller around currently at 15p but if the seller clears I think it could get rerated by 20%.

I bought into Shaft Sinkers (SHFT) getting 3,000 at 180.5 from the seminar shortlist. Interesting company that floated recently. I was sceptical about it simply from the name as it sounded like a dodgy small commodity stock. Also I worry about having a share with "Sinker" in the title. Isn't it asking for trouble?
It makes money (near £17m) and even has cash too. So the fundamentals look good and with a market cap of well under £100m it looks cheap. It should also go into the small cap index shortly. Obviously there is risk because sinking shafts which is what it does is obviously risky. And some of its profits came in because of currency rates (a stronger South African Rand is good). And it does mention various recent problems in, well, erm.. sinking shafts...
But to me a lot of the risk is already in the price and I'm wondering about a longer-term hold here for very good potential upside initially targetting 250. Stop 140. However it would be one to get out of fast if more question marks appeared and not one I would put an awful lot into for reasons stated.
And I got some Nicols (NICL) live at the seminar picking up 500 at 523. Decent statements and rising nicely. I also rate this as a potential takeover target, from someone like Britvic or AG Barr (total speculation on my part). T 650 S 470.
I sold my Micro Focus at 368 nabbing a nice profit of £3,720.
I've been waiting for the bid. I've chickened out as it keeps banging up against 375 and falling back.
ok, so I might well miss the bid at 420-450 but I made a good profit and if the bidder withdrew the price will tumble. It's a bit like Deal or No Deal. I've dealt early grabbing a lower sum on this occasion instead of waiting for the final box.... So, Noel.... Deal!
PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS
Capital Drill has become a nice star performer. It announced a pretty decent statement yesterday, some positives and some negatives but all in all with the 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.

London Capital Group won a decent contract with TD Waterhouse which has pushed the price up even more, very nice profits building there now. That contract is a good win and along with the fundies the share should I think be gradually rerated up to a quid. I simply think London Capital which also runs Tradefair and some others is under the radar but when it gets noticed I think it will rise quickly.
Exillon produced yet another good report today. Drilling is going well and worth staying patient with event though I am already up a lot.... Should go a lot higher given some time and might become a core holding. Good support for this in the low 400s. It might well hang about here for a bit though.

My Pace bounce bet hasn't worked out and I think I'm about to dump it for breakeven as it could easily come up with something even worse than it already has.

MS International couldn't manage to hold the higher level, still will be patient. AZ Electronics shines well. If it can head above 300 it will look very bullish but could prove a barrier. However no sign of moving higher for now. The 290 area seems sticky.

Recent spreadbet Croda goes well as does recent buy Avon Rubber Already up more than 20% since buying before the hols. However recent buy Laird has dropped a bit since I bought. Still only down 4p so far so I'll stay in there for a recovery back up.

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.
Perhaps after the June results. Good rising dividend too.
My oil gamble Cadogan reported yesterday. Pretty decent I thought, it's come back a bit from its high but with cash in the bank and an agreement in the bag, it can't surely be worth much lower and when oil shares come back into fashion it could well be a very nice winner, even a potential doubler though much will depend of course on drills.
I tried to pick up some more Cadogan on the order book at 39p but I didn't get them. Boo Hoo. However I will leave an order in around that price in case it comes back.

Volex continues to move much higher yet again and it seems 300p has been conquered. Looks like it could be heading back to the 350 area. 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 remains ultra disappointing but I looked at it afresh and it just appears so cheap I'm sticking with it despite it hovering at stop levels.
2 Ergo hasn't done much since I bought but yesterday announced a decent future might be coming and a good contract win so I'll stay with it though no profit as yet. With a bit of patience though it could be a surprise winner later in the year.

Dialight has given back a little but 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. Yule Catto has at last picked up after some poor days and looks like it has bottomed at 200 and seems very undervalued. Devro is trying to get hold of the 3oo level. Aggreko has stormed ahead even higher, what a great business and this is simply one to continue to hold, probably for another year.

Aureus and Afferro seem to have bottomed out after the disastrous split. Both have moved smartly higher but remain volatile - I have some free Aureus from the split. Afferro produced another good report today.

Recent buy Harvey Nash goes up again today and now hits over 80p. Very nice indeed now. 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 this week.

Microgen remains a cracker 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. Up again today, and it has also paid out some nice dividends.

E2V has been going great guns with super profits. 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. held well. 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 tries to conquer 60. Treatt is the share that keeps on giving!
Will be back with more on the markets next Wednesday
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!
****
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!