My new sugar addiction has moved from chocolate to...

Mr Kipling's French Fancy Cakes. They are just amazing. Little squares of heaven. Prefer the pink and yellow ones.

However the appearance of these delights have not gone unnoticed in the household.

Christopher, Mrs NT and the cleaner are after them and I'm running out of hiding places.

I had 12 of these carefully hidden one morning. There were ten left after the cleaner had been so she definitely had 2 of them.

I then ate two leaving 8. Two hours after Christopher and Mrs NT had arrived back from the school pickup mysteriously it was down to 6. I quickly changed hiding places.

30 minutes after that Christopher asked me if I had any "treats". I think that frames him for two of them.

Later in the evening we were getting ready for the fantastic finale of Mad Men when Mrs NT disappeared into the kitchen. She came back.

"Erm, have you got any of those little cakes left?" she asked.

"Top shelf, cleaning cupboard," I sighed.

Obviously there aren't any left this morning so I'm off to the corner shop for more. The cleaner's due tomorrow and she will be on the hunt for them.

There's only one place I can think of now to keep them safe.... the car boot! Don't tell anyone!

Facebook is getting quite scary. I keep getting mails going something like: "Reminder; Invite from Ben to link to his Facebook Page."

Oh and other sites. "LAST chance to link to Eric on Linkein".

"If you do not set up on Facebook, a government official will come round to do it for you".

"WHY are you not on Facebook. It is now compulsory."

Please - I don't want any electronic friends. I don't want a facebook page and I don't want to link to anyone's either! I'd rather chat with people I know on the phones or see them in the real world.

Nor do I want to stand in front of the TV and pretend to play tennis or pretend to do anything else. I want to do these things for REAL. I want REAL friends and things to do, not pretend ones!

There there, tedious old fart rant over! I do like Youtube though.

One minute last night I was going to go to bed at 11am. By 1pm I was still up with my headphones plugged in listening and watching old dance videos from the 90s! Yes I spent two hours dancing round the computer!

Any old tune I could remember liking I just typed in and up it came. I'd forgotten things like I'm Free by the Soup Dragons and I'm Alive by Stetch N Verne. Great old tunes.

The catchiest tune this year has got to be "Like my Ipod's stuck on replayyyyyy" - can't work out whether it's good or just really annoying.

Quiet weekend planned - Christopher is trying his first game of football. You never know, we'll have him playing for Fulham one day!

Tonight we're off to see the new Ricky Gervais movie, Cemetary something or other, mixed reviews, will let you know the score next week!

A message for those of you booked into the May seminar I sent you all full venue and all other details by email over the weekend - if you did not get this mail, please let me know though check your spam folders first!

Thanks for the continued nice feeback on the seminar. It's been very rewarding for me to get all these mails and I can see many of you especially liked the live orders I put in as well as the chance to look at my Isa and spreadbet accounts live!

If you missed the last seminar the next date is May 14th at Heathrow. Even better at this early stage there is an early bookers discount available! So grab it while you can as it's not got long left!
If you're interested in coming then email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "May seminar interested" in the subject line.

I'll 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! E-mail me for details.
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.
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/
MF Global offers a free £2 bet on the FTSE to all readers.
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
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.

Those of you looking for some extra income could be interested here:

http://www.ei42.com/Nakedtrader/ then click "earn money" on the rhs.

So for free you can sign up and get this shopping site for yourself. What's brilliant is any product you want type it into the search and it will come up with it, which store it is at and where it is cheapest, then buy it and earn commission on your spend!
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.

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

**** BOOKING FOR MAY 14TH AT HEATHROW NOW OPEN**

(March seminar is sold out)
Fancy spending a day with me, learning all the ways I have learned over the years to find good shares and play the markets? Well, you can at one of my seminars!
Booking is now open for the next Naked Trader seminar on Friday May 14th
Price is £495 plus vat. However there is an early booking discount now available.
That includes three course lunch, coffees, snacks etc. And most importantly it covers choc bars and fruit gums too.
The seminar is mainly aimed at beginners and dabblers though improvers are welcome too.
Topics covered using live market feeds all day include: Market psychology, level 2 - a simple guide to how to use it for better timing; how to value companies; finding companies that are about to rise. I will also cover techniques for handling events such as the recent meltdown and volatility.
Spreadbetting: How to use it to gain an edge and go short. Market makers - how they work and how to beat them; how to stop losing money and make it instead and plenty more.
How to plan trade entries and exits - how to research companies and understand reports, plus all those niggly questions you always wanted to ask. How to set stop losses and targets. Charts and how to use them.
Also covered: Market maker tricks: How to spot tree shakes and use them in your favour, How to tell when NOT to buy a share. I use live ADVFN all day with lots of level 2 and looks at all kind of live market data.
The idea behind the seminar is SIMPLICITY. I don't use jargon or fancy words - everything is in PLAIN ENGLISH! No question is too stupid and the event is held in a friendly relaxed and supportive environment.
The idea is you will come away from the event I hope a wise and better investor with lots of new ideas. I try and translate complex topics into easy bite size pieces. I also aim for it to be entertaining as well as instructive.
If you are interested please e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "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!

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/

Oh - the "debate". I made it till 8.53 when I could stand it no more. Same with Mrs NT.

I wonder if a lot of others did at the same time!

I bet when the viewing figures comes out it starts with a massive audience which gradually dwindles towards the end.

The whole thing just reminded me of a Sixth Form debating contest with older people playing the parts of hte youngsters.

As to who "won", well I thought all three were dire in their own ways. Polls say Clegg won but I hated him the most with all that false sincerity and staring into the camera. Ugh!!

By the way you may not know but the Libs plan to push the capital gain tax limit down to £2,000! So if you are a share buyer that's all the profit you'll be allowed before paying tax on it! Beware!

I still think the best thing is to vote Tory this time. Brown has screwed up and has to go.

The Sun summed it all up well today linking the debate with the volcanic eruption as in A Lot of Hot Air...

Got to feel sorry for all those whose flights are messed up and especially families trying to get back from half-term, must be awful. Let's hope they can get moving again soon.

There's nothing worse than being stuck at a busy airport with nowhere to go.

Those of you who don't get to see the London Evening Standard may be interested in this! A bit of a do between two Dragons!!
Bosses at the BBC were today presented with a major headache after Duncan Bannatyne accused fellow Dragons' Den star James Caan of suggesting he is racist.

With the filming of the next series of the hit show due to start in a few days, Caan went on to highlight Bannatyne's criminal past

The row began with Bannatyne saying Caan enjoyed an unfair advantage because he was a "non-dom" for tax purposes. Speaking to the Evening Standard, private equity multi-millionaire Caan said: "I do not apologise for my country of origin, Pakistan."

Caan said he could not invest with anyone who had a criminal record - a reference to Bannatyne serving a sentence in military prison when he was a teenager in the Royal Navy.

Bannatyne immediately hit back, telling the Evening Standard that Caan was "playing the race card" and "personalising the whole thing". With filming of the next series of Dragons' Den beginning next week, Bannatyne went on to Twitter, pointing out that Caan is chairman of the Big Issue which employs sellers with criminal pasts and asking how they could now work with their chief?

The Scottish health clubs entrepreneur dragged the Big Issue founder into the row by asking: "Did John Bird know about [James Caan's] view on ex-prisoners when he gave him the chairman's role?"

So far, the BBC has maintained the line that the Dragons do not have to get on with each other. But while the producers may have been hoping for boosted ratings after Bannatyne went public about Caan's tax staus, the temperature has today been raised to the point that it's difficult to envisage them sitting in the same room without coming to blows.

Bannatyne maintains there was no personal sleight intended when he raised Caan's non-domicile privileges in a newspaper article. Bannatyne said that he had been arguing for some time that the law enabling foreigners to claim they were non-doms needed changing and he merely used the example of Caan, his fellow Dragon, to illustrate the point that while they sat on the same panel and even invested in identical projects, one enjoyed a tax lead over the other.

Caan reacted furiously to Bannatyne's gibe, refusing to shake his hand and firing off a lawyer's letter. Since then, however, rather than dampen down, the dispute has moved up several notches. Another Dragon, Peter Jones, has publicly voiced his willingness to invest with Bannatyne, fuelling suspicions in the Caan camp that Bannatyne is trying to persuade all the panellists to turn on their man and say they won't work with Caan. "

Well, if the Standard is right it looks like not all is well in the Dragons department. Could make the new series interesting!

Meanwhile Duncan seems to be taking any chance given to him to be on TV - as well as eating food this week provided by The Restaurant duo, you may have missed "Bannatyne's Seaside Rescue".

It's a really desperate idea based on similar formats. Duncan goes to a seaside funfair every week to try and "rescue" it - I only managed a few minutes but you can see why it's on a cable channel.

From the ridiculous to the sublime finale of Mad Men, what a cracker it was. Again if you missed it get the DVD, you won't be disappointed!

Sporting offer £200 credit for new accounts at this link, see terms and conditions.. click this link to get the offer:

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.

Craig writes:
Couldn't agree more with you about Cadbury's cream eggs. They are selling packs of 12 in Tesco at half price. Went back today to 'top up' (cream egg trading speak) and they were temporarily unavailable (*ollocks) - I reckon everyone has reaslised what a good deal this was. I'll be back at the weekend to see if they have restocked. I take them out of the packet and put them in the fridge in the specially moulded parts designed for poultry eggs - great.

They're just that bit better fresh out of the fridge. Bet the cleaner wont find them there! Anyhow, I swear blind they are quite a bit smaller than they were last year - what does everyone else reckon? Trouble is there is now way of finding out, or proving it!!

Sounds like a good tip Craig, in the fridge they go but I still reckon the cleaner will find them!
Neil writes:

Neil
I'd just like to thank you for an excellent March seminar. I'd recently been on another seminar and to be honest it came nowhere near yours. Your approach was professional but down to earth, which captured me straight away. There was no bullshit or arrogance on your part just honesty and a genuine belief you wanted to help us make it on our own. There was no hard selling, which was a breath of fresh air.

Thanks Neil - well, I know you pay but I do genuinely enjoy putting people on the right path....
Andy writes:
I am reading your book. I am sending you this email not in direct reference to anything financial but musical. I am many things including a DJ.
No man of your standing should be subject to commercial tripe when it comes to dance music.
There is no reason why one should dis-like "Put your hands up for Detroit" , but if my surmise is correct, if you like the commercial stuff, you would probably be left speechless by the good stuff. Here i can help -I think. Both my wife and I agree, that of all the music I have, the Global Underground series is excellent. Nick warren, Sasha Darren Emerson and almost all of the 38 albums so far in the main series are great. "Communicate" by Sasha and John Digweed is also an album i hold dear and one i am quite sure you would love. Sometimes it takes a couple of listens to really get it but they are a world away from the "commercial"
Hi Karl!
Thanks for that. What you may not have taken on board is how crap my music taste is - I just like stuff that gets me up on my feet with a happy tune and a good beat! But I'll order one of those and give it a try - thanks for trying to broaden my horizon!
David writes:
What a marathon of a seminar it was! In fact I told my wife it was the "mother of all investment seminars" when I got home so late - just in case she thought I had not actually been at a seminar, as it did go on just a bit later than these things normally do. In fact I have never been to a 13 hour (virtually non-stop) one before and still don't know how you keep going at such a pace.

All in all a very useful day, exceedingly well run and loads of great insight and useful tricks of the trade from you for us all to start using straight away.

I am very pleased I decided to attend and wish I had done so when I first read your book nearly two years ago. Excellent book by the way - much the most useful "how to" investment book I have read.
Thanks David - I think it was a mix of chocolate, coffee and headache pills that kept me going....

Alistair writes:

I just purchased your book and just wanted to drop you a quick email to say that I am, so far, thoroughly enjoying it. I didn't realise how much it would make me chuckle! I especially enjoyed your comments about Prime Minister's question time.

I too find Gordon Brown's inability to complete a sentence without stuttering or mispronouncing words highly entertaining. It was one of my favourite Wednesday morning hangover remedies before I graduated. However, as the looming general election draws nearer I have to ask myself whether this is a substantial enough reason to vote for the man?

Glad you like it!
Not a bad reason to vote for him though personally I'm fed up with the whole lot of them!

I have 3 great offers from ADVFN. First great deal: If you want level 2, though me it is only £299 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £360 PLUS vat from ADVFN direct (£423) so this deal saves you over £100! ADVFN level 2 also includes all the live trades made through Plus Markets which I find invaluable.
To accept this great deal just e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Level 2 offer" in the subject line and I will tell you how to get it. Level 2 for only £299 for a year (including vat), or under £25 a month!!

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £60pa - available from me for only £40! That's a saving of £20! You get access to the premium bulletin board which contains my discussion forum with direct access to chat to me and some very good traders.
Plus you get ADVFN's premium top lists which I talk about in my book and think are a must for finding great stock picks. That includes great lists like ex dividend dates, market maker buys plus chart breakouts and downs.
To take up the offer, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with Bronze in the subject line and I will tell you how to claim the deal.

Deal three is ADVFN's silver subscription - for those of you who want all the benefits of Bronze AND always on real-time prices.. no more using the back button and getting frozen out!
The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you'd like this deal with "silver" in the subject line.

Want to try out broker Selftrade superb trading system for no risk? You only have to trade once to get £50 bunged into your account! You get £50 and I get £50.
All deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. They also charge £35 plus vat pa for all accounts. Follow this link...
http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

Well, the uptrend in general continues and who am I to fight it?

However with such big profits building it's getting very hard not to start pressing one or two take profits buttons but recently whenever I've done that the share in question carries on rising! One would really think the market was due a pullback but I'll stay greedy for a bit longer.

I've made a few quid out of Scott Wilson (SWG) in the past and it looks cheap for me at these levels again so I bought 4,000 at 91.45 yesterday- it ran into trouble during the recession but is on the recovery trail now. I'm looking for 30% out of it medium term. Target 120 stop 85. It's going well this morning. If it can get through the hard 100 barrier, then my target of 120 looks feasible.

Another recovery play looks to be Management Consulting (MMC) and I picked up 15,000 at 23p. Looks in strong recovery mode for a rerating back up to the 30p area - I'm after that as quite a short-term idea. Target 30 stop 19. Has some risk but there's been some nice buying in here this week - it peaked at 30p before hence the target.

Finally on the buying side I've had a little gamble on shower-maker Norcros (NXR). I've bought because after doing nothing for a long time there are buyers coming in. I'm just following. I got 50,000 at 7.74 this am after it was already up more than 10%. Target 12 stop 5.5. It's really a recovery play - debt has been reduced a lot after a placing though still on the high side - however any recovery at all in the next results could see a massive rerating if it could break back into profit later this year. Considering a medium-term hold here. Still, a risky play.

I've ummed and ahhed about taking profits in Micro Focus as it jeeps knocking against 540-550 and can't break through. So as I hold shares and a spreadbet I compromised and sold the spreadbet for now at 536 for a nice profit of £1,490.

Elsewhere the portfolio goes very well in an excellent marketplace.

Domino Printing which came up late night at the last seminar is really doing well now - it's sprinted up and past 400 and seems to keep going and the spreadbet now in a very nice profit, worth staying up late for that one at the seminar!

Spreadbet Kentz has been really motoring this past week. Profits now rapidly approaching £1,000.

Recent buy Xchanging continues to rise nicely and steadily and hopeful of my target medium term. Eaga issued a steady as she goes statement but still looks undervalued. LOQ remains a great market, hot weather over then summer will really help. That rises today.

Hilton Food Group is trying to conquer the 250 there may be some more upside. In the meantime a nice dividend. Zotefoams is up again today.

The Wolsely short remains in good profit and isn't going up when the market rises which is a good sign.

Alterian where I'm up a few thousand goes well - looks like just a shake in Harvey with profits still at £1,000.
Axis Shield is battling with the 400p area and recent top up Nestor Healthcare has flown nicely higher after those big director buys. I'm up more than £5,000 now including the spreadbets.

Spirent remains a near doubler. PZ Cuzzons has started another nice rise. Little gamble Asterand has been rising well.

SDL keeps trying to crack 500 and great profits here. That last 1,000 of Barclays I kept is doing very well! The spreadbet in Fenner is in good profit as is the spreadbet in Pace - 200p looks a hard barrier to get through for the minute.

Volex carries on looking strong - long-termer Heritage remains doing fine.. The BT pension fund has finally sold out of Dialight which hopefully clears any overhang. LOQ rises again today after profit taking.

Petrofac continues to blossom and with my free Enquest shares, profits are up and over £20,000. XP Power tries to break up through 600 and remains a lovely trebler.
So the portfolio continues to prosper - but can the markets carry on rising?
I've been getting e-mails regarding my use of direct market access and who I use. I've tried a few and for me the easiest system for me is here:
http://www.igmarkets.co.uk/?QPID=1079&QPPID=1
Direct market access means you can place orders directly onto the order book bypassing brokers and market-makers with a chance to buy at the "sell" price. I would suggest you ensure you know what you're doing first but IG does provide much education with its "tradesense" educational tool which comes with it.
I also use its spreadbetting service too along with other firms like Tradefair because it now provides trailing stops which to me is a pretty sensible way of trading. Link is here: -
http://www.igindex.co.uk/?QPID=1078&QPPID=1
that also includes a pretty decent educational programme. As usual before opening accounts please read all the warnings on the sites. You can lose a lot of money if you're not careful so pay close attention to them and make sure you always understand what you are doing and what your potential losses are.

I've also started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit.
So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 5 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply).
To get the offer, click here:
http://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/nakedtrader100/

If you want to get the contents of The Naked Trader website into your mailbox instead of waiting for the update to come through, plus exclusively news on the progress of my SIPP from the old Sunday Times column inc new higher risk Aim buys made for that, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with SIPP in the subject line for details of how to get it.

Want to quit the rat race? Try and start a new source of income so one day you can tell the boss to stuff it? You could do what I did to escape my grotty office job and become an independent distributor for the Utilities Discount Warehouse.
You get to sell great broadband, phone packages and energy to friends, relatives, contacts and anyone else you find and you get cash for each sale but more importantly you get a cut of their spend EVERY MONTH for as long as they are a customer!
It's called residual income and is a far better way to enjoy a ripe old age than relying on a pension. Because even after you stop selling the money STILL comes in!
I still get paid EVERY MONTH for sales I made back in 1999! Every time a customer uses broadband or the phone or switches on a light you get paid.
It's a great business and backed by a stock market company (Telecom Plus), a dedicated team of advisors.. and me to help you on your way!
Not only do you get paid out every month for each customer you can take on distributors. encourage them like I do and get paid on their sales as well.
One day, say you could made redundant, needed a year off or wanted to retire early can you imagine what joy it is to have the regular income coming in. It's wonderful.
You have to work at it, but if you do genuine repeat wealth could be yours. I did it. You can too. For full details, why not email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com.
An overview is also available at http://www.telecomplus.org.uk/fabdeal you can sign up directly there but do tell me!
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Trade tables follow! Trades are current open and recently closed trades. Closed trades feature the closing price and the amount I won or lost. All others are open. Trades get updated a little later than the narrative. Trading costs are ignored, however I also do not add in dividend payments and with the kinds of companies I buy, dividends tend to equal or outweigh costs. Spread rollovers ignored for web purposes. Tables as accurate as poss however a mistake or two can creep in and very occasionally if I forgot I sold or bought something it will be added at a later time.
Trades first reported Weds and Fri afternoons under "Markets" section.. afraid I can't do live trades as that would turn me into a tipster and I'd have to be regulated!