Grandma has been visiting us from Ireland which means unusually we get a bit of time to ourselves. Wow, we even managed to get out and watch a movie!
We had a parent-teacher evening thing and the good news for us is Christopher is doing really well at the start of his second term at school.
Apparently he likes the computer, is beginning to read well and gets on with everyone. Though he's not keen on ballet (we can live with that).
He continues to be such a joy to us and being able to spend so much time with him is magical.
Money simply can't buy the pleasure of picking him up from school, cycling to the park while he scoots alongside and chatting about things. Wonderful.
And he drew a picture of me on a paper plate and I had a big smile. That was a lovely moment to savour.
With Grandma looking after the lad we got out and saw a great film over the weekend - it's called Up In The Air starring George Clooney. It's outstanding - go and see!
Without spoiling it, it's based on a bloke who fires people for a living.
And the bloke loves travelling around the states and his big ambition in life is to collect ten million air miles. he loves hotels and having no clutter.
The only home he does have is a lot like a hotel room which hasn't been cleaned yet.
Personally I hate most hotels and can't wait to leave. Especially the passive-aggressive staff. And especially airport hotels. Though the South Africa hotel was great.
The hotel where I held Friday's seminar delivered the breakfast to my room. After telling me it was "downstairs" and if I wanted it in my room I'd get charged full whack despite it being included in my room rate.
It got delivered after I called up and told them I'd never hold a seminar again unless the breakfast got delivered to my room without charge. That worked!
I'd asked for boiled eggs (four minutes) - the eggs were pretty much raw so I called and told them.
The response? "Well, was the rest of the breakfast all right?"
I put the eggs in the kettle to cook them properly. The toast was stone cold. Why oh why had I forgotten to bring my trusty toaster?
Next time I'm going to forget breakfast and do what I used to do and just bring some nice bread and marmalade and make myself some nice hot toast. Actually there's a new kind of toaster out that has an attachment to boil eggs as well - might get one of those.
Thanks to all of you who came to the seminar on Friday and battled with the horrible weather to make it. Unfortunately one chap who was in Goa had his flight cancelled. Mind you, he didn't seem that worried about being stuck in the sun for a bit longer.
Great to meet so many interesting people. I love the variety, every age, every kind of employment there. Lawyer, plumber, professional gambler, bodyguard, shop owner, you name it we had it.
Gold award has to go to BA pilot Mike.
He had been flying all night, his plane landed at Heathrow at 9am, he got to the seminar before 10am, stayed till 8pm... without falling asleep!
I bet he had an extremely good sleep on Friday night. We got the best landing ever on our BA flight coming back from South Africa - never even knew we had landed!
Well done to Tony for winning the FTSE competition - the price was £150 but I could add £120 to that as we had a successful FTSE bet open (a short) so Tony won £270.
Thank you all for being so honest with some fascinating stories - and I really enjoyed doing the live trading, putting orders in etc - lucky for us the markets were so interesting that day. I really hope you all now see how useful level 2 is.
I had a great drink and a laugh with some of you afterwards and was shocked on getting to my room to discover it was 1.30am! Because of too much gin I couldn't sleep.
I hope all of you got the notes in the end - I have no idea why the spam filters block them. I had even to resend them to some of you having to supply a different email address.
Which makes me wonder how many emails are sent to me that perhaps I never get.
And indeed how far are we going to allow computers to stop us getting mail we want? Am I going to have to change my personality and stop using certain words? Where is it all going to end?
Anyway thank you all for coming in difficult circumstances and for all the lovely feedback which is very rewarding.

I wish you all well with your trading.

My next seminar is on Friday March 19th at Heathrow so if you couldn't make Friday's maybe you can make this one.
If you're interested in comimh then email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "March 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. There is a decent early bookers discount available.

For those only who've been to a seminar before I have a seat left at the follow up Tech Analysis seminar at heathrow on Sat Feb 6th which I hold with top trader Susan Marmor. If you're interested mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Follow up TA seminar" in the subject line and I'll send you details.

My seminars are designed for beginners, dabblers and improvers and deals with everything from how to look for winners, how to research, spreadbetting, level 2 use how to time trades and short, how to use advfn properly and run your portfolio without having to spend money on systems and tipsters.. and tons more.
A lot of the day comes directly from the live markets and I show you many of the tricks I use to get good prices live. And there might even be the odd live trade or 2! E-mail me for details.

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.
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 2 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://promo.tradefair.com/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.
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 MARCH 19TH 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 now open for the next Naked Trader seminar on Friday March 19th
Price is £495 plus vat. However right now there is an early booking discount!
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 "New Year 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 2 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply)
To get the offer, click here:
http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

There's nothing else I can do now but switch Brown off the moment he comes on TV.
Laughably he was trying to reassure middle class voters he's create more jobs.
What he means is more jobs that needn't exist for penpushers who do nothing and get well paid for it. Instead of creating some real jobs in places they're needed.
I think we have to despair in general at our politicians, our politics and fear for the country.
We have the second raters we ended up deserving. People who couldn't care less about the country but only really care about themselves. of course there are some honourable exceptions to that.
PMQs has descended into stupidity with the winner seemingly just the one with the best punchline, no way to run a country.
Labour Governments end, as they always do, with the country in a mess owing a fortune.
Unemployment is supposed to be down today. Do you believe these figures? No, nor me. The underlying problems are still there.
Remember swine flu? Remember really from its origins it never was much more than a bad dose of flu.
I can't imagine how much money has been wasted on buying up Tamiflu. And we don't even know yet whether the vaccine itself might be dangerous. I suspect we shall end up with an awful lot of it and no-one to sell it to.
I won't miss the normal Big Brother but will miss the celebrity one which this year has been fun. Highlight for me is Steven trying to convert Alex to God.
Looks like Johnas is going quietly bananas. And give her her due, Ivana, used to living in utmost luxury with a troope of servants is giving it a decent bash.
Vinny has done really well and looks the likely winner with Sisqo somewhere in the top three. What an Alpha male he is. You wouldn't want to mess with him would you?
If you press "Sports" there is a preview of the weekend's sports betting action and a look at the weekend games.
Get to grips with sports spread betting by opening an account with Sporting Index. . Click the link below to find out more.
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.

Michael writes:
I wish to thank you for a really fantastic seminar. Compared to the average newspaper pundit//broker/analyst you're worth your weight in gold. Sorry, even better, make that platinum not gold!

It was great to be able to witness you at first hand going through the actual nuts and bolts of your methodology, your thought processes even. And then, watching you trading and giving us access to your real time trading accounts as you trade. You're a very inspiring, generous, accessible and completely down to earth bloke. All in all, that seminar was a masterclass.
Thanks Michael - good to meet you and good luck.
Dan writes:

A big thank you for the seminar, you're an absolute trooper to keep
going to such an unsocial hour, especially with the last bunch of us
propping up the (closed) bar! It's a new record for you, although I
think I'd keep that one a secret otherwise your next seminar might be
a 24 hour bender!

It was a great day, really informative and yet strangely relaxing! Met
some very interesting characters and now just hoping I don't get a
case of amnesia, and forget the whole lot before I start trading. If I
do I know where to come.

Hope we didn't drain you too much and you get some TLC and chill out
time with your lovely wife Elizabeth and Christopher over the weekend.

I'll keep you posted should my trading take-off otherwise if you never
hear from me again I've probably packed it all in, and emigrated with
a lovely Swedish girl to live in a log cabin!

well, I hope you get to that log cabin and you and Swede will end up happy together...
Richard writes:
I've just finished reading your book, which I thought was superb. I've not read anything as simple and honest, when it comes to the world of trading, for a while.

I have two questions for you. Firstly, in your book you mention that once someone has invested the initial amount in an ISA, they can grow it to any size and keep buying and selling within that enlarged amount. However, I've just read a Moneyweek magazine article which states "once you are fully invested up to the annual limit, should you then sell the shares in an ISA, you can't change your mind later and reinvest in the same ISA." Does this mean that if you've grown your initial investment to say £20k, if you sell a loser you can't use the cash to buy a different share?

Secondly, and more importantly, I am a big fan of toast, but my question is "¦ Marmite or Bovril? I'm a Bovril man myself, but I know you Brits (I'm South African) are a bit strange and prefer to put it in hot water than on toast.

Hi Richard - more importantly Marmite for me but really marmalade is the winner!

Re ISAs if you grew it to 20k and sell a loser you can reinvest the money again rightaway. ie if you grow your pot you can sell and re-invest. But.. if you withdraw cash you cannot replace it until the next tax year if you already put in the full amount. But there is no limit to the amount you can make in an ISA.

Jimmy writes:

I have just finished reading your book The Naked Trader. I bought it in a bookshop, I at WH Smith's at Monk's Cross Retail Park in York, where I live. I have to say that it was worth every penny. It is very informative AND entertaining. So thank you for writing it.

I have been trading on and off for the past 12 years ( I'm 43 years old). The biggest satisfaction I got with reading your book was that it confirmed to me what I was doing right, and also what I was doing wrong. Thankfully, I was doing more things right than wrong. Of course I learned the hard way (or the expensive way) over the years. The horror stories in your book were interesting, because anyone who has traded for long enough will have made the same classic errors. It really made me giggle. It's like watching someone trip and fall flat on their behind. It's not really funny when you stop to think about it because one can really get hurt... but you can't help but laugh when it happens, especially because you've been there yourself. I think that even if you're a seasoned trader, reading The Naked Trader is a MUST READ. You'll learn a thing or two and have a good laugh
Thanks Jimmy, I love the stories true and they are all real!!

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

Right, quite a lot to get through as I haven't updated for a while especially as I bought and sold some stuff live at the seminar via my accounts. Indeed I've bought loads of new things and cleared out a lot of old.
As I suggest to those who come to my seminars, where I am quite happy to show my live broker and spreadbet accounts, next time you go to a seminar, especially if held by a bloke in a suit, ask him if you can see some of his share accounts to see how well he is doing. Betcha he won't!
Let's do the live trades first at the seminar, well the buys anyway.
I bought Treatt (TET) live, 1000 shares at 298 and 1,000 at 301. A nice little growing company which provides ingedients/chemicals for organic products especially in the cosmetics industry.
This company is quietly growing very nicely and has a great balance sheet too. Worth at least 360 I reckon and a possible bid thrown in for nothing. Target 360 stop 280. Only drawback is just two market-makers who push the price around to suit themselves and a spread just a little higher than I'd like. But I just intend to stay put, whatever games are played. If an upcoming February statement shows promise there's a good chance of 400ish.
I also bought some Kentz (KENZ) using a spreadbet account because it is an AIM stock (but quite a big company for AIM). An oil services company that just keeps winning contracts and great fundamentals too. Target 280 stop 180. I expect to tuck these away for a year or so. I bought £20 live at 210.5
Those of you wondering at the seminar whether my order at the sell price on Dialight (DIA) was filled on the day - it was and so I picked up another 1,000 at 239.25 and I'd also bought a further 1,000 earlier in the week at 224.3.
What a fabulous share this has been and it won't be long now before I'll have doubled on the first lot bought. It's issued a very confident ahead of expectations statement and keeps picking up orders for LED lighting in the States. The potential upside looks unlimited for now. Profits are now huge and look like they will only get bigger with yet another good rise today. target 350 stop 220.
I've got back into Volex (VLX) getting 3,500 at 102p. Made some decent money on this before and wish I hadn't sold. As usual I don't mind getting in at a higher price - a lovely update a few days ago making this one a nice medium-term tuckaway with its sector going well. Target 150 stop 92.
Very slightly hesitantly and I put this down as a gamble is a re-entry into Renold (RNO) - a bit wary as I lost on this last time. However it does look like an interesting cyclical recovery play and it's raised some money in a placing. I got 10,000 at 21.1. Target 28 stop 19.
I also bought some insurance for the first time in ages as the sector is going well and bought some Beazley (BEZ) on the spreads for £30 at 103. The price in the market is actually 108 but the spreadet firm I placed the bet with already has the ex dividend in the price.
I've gone back into my favourite short, Wolseley (WOS), ie betting on it to go down and got a fiver on at 1486. Even better that the share has tried to head above 1500 a few times and can't manage it. Target 1400 stop 1525.
I've also shorted (betting on it to go down) Man Group (EMG) - this one cropped up at the seminar - for £20 at 292. target 250 stop 305. Quite funny really, it's down because it claimed to have an amazing system that bought and sold shares - this system screwed up badly and so they put out a horrible statement. I'd reckon for further weakness here for a shorter-term trade - target 250 stop 305.
I've also tentatively shorted Imagination (IMG) £20 at 254. Actually it's a great company with chips in the right places and lots of cash - but there's an awful lot in the price now. Stop 270 Target 220. Guaranteed stop on this one in case there's a bid.

I also shorted the FTSE this morning at 5489 for a fiver following up the gains from the live FTSE short I had at the seminar on Friday. As usual it's a suck it and see but I'd have thought 5500 a bit of a barrier for now. If I'm wrong I'll try and exit without too much damage. If right I'll stay with it for a bit.
With all these shorts generally the plan is out quick with small losses if I'm wrong.
Right onto some sales where I've had a massive clearout - bit like the new year sales - I've pretty much cleared anything out that's making a loss, isn't doing anything, topsliced some profits and generally been ruthless!
Sold some of my London Capital at 137.25 live at the seminar to take a part profit of £681. Nice trade that was and holding onto the other half. Maybe I sold that a bit too early as they got the Partygaming contract. Still, a good profit and still got half my original stake.
Onto some boredom sells if you will. Got finally bored out of Booker selling at 47 for profits of £250 and £83. 50p is too much of a barrier for now. Vernalis was another boredom sell, gone at 85 for a profit of £388. Also on the boredom sell list went Gem Diamonds, sold at 248.2 for a profit of £826. 250 the stumbling block here. Asterand was losing so it went at 19.05 for a loss of £300 and £750. One position also spent too long below stop.
One I was forced to sell - Visonic. Forced because it's delisting in March and because it says the Stock Exchange won't allow it to stay listed as less than 25% of its shares are in free float. Shame as this company looked to have a good future.
But as I would have to sell by early March because In couldn't hold it in an ISA anymore I sold at 67.45 for a decent profit of £1,550.
Shame though as if it had stayed listed those profits would have grown some more. I saw the word "cautionary" in a news story about Delta which was enough for me to part company with the spreadbet at 144.5 for a profit of £150. It's gone higher than that so maybe that was a knee jerk reaction by me.
I've taken profits in my short in Corin at 61 which makes a nice profit for a short of £760. I banked the profit because a large buyer appeared on the orderbook at 59.
Alterian came out with a surprise warning (Surrrprise!) - usually I'm quite quick off the mark selling fast on a warning but I missed the 165 on offer as I was watching Peppa Pig with Christopher. So I ended up selling half at 155 instead but still a £775 profit banked on the last position. I stay with the rest where even after the warning the profit is £4,500! Looks like the fall is going to become overdone and it'll shortly be a good time to buy it back. Just a question of locating the bottom (ooh er missus).
And (yes there is more) I sold the short-term Heritage spreadbet as it hit the 550 target although I actually didn't get that but parted with it at 541 to bank a short-term profit of £970. Obviously I keep the long-term trade which has trebled and a bit!
All of which profits minus the losses make a total profit for the site of a pleasing £5,233.
Phew! Right a quick look around...
The portfolio has had an amazing start to the year with some very nice gains. Star of the show for this week is Intec Telecoms - raced higher this week and now up more than £6,000 plus a dividend as well. It's now nearly doubled.
Carclo has risen very nicely indeed and has consolidated the gains. Recent top up Spirent looks good, well up on the original buy.
. Gamble Aminex is now officially a double on my first buy position! And it means profits are up and over £8,000. Very nice.
RM didn't move for bit but it is really scorching up now and profits have rolled in here. 200 could be a barrier and would be tempted to grab profits if it can't get through.
Profits on Heritage nicely over £10,000 though as mentioned above sold the quickfire spreadbet.
Afren has got through the tricky 100 area which looks promising. Micro Focus just rises everyday and is now battling to beat the 500 mark- around £3k profit there now with more than 100 points profits since the buy.
My lovely doubler and a bit Chime (up more than £3k) is beginning to motor again and it seems to be buying up the right companies.
Porvair has also been going well - looks like a buyer picking up chunks of 50,000 there - interesting.
One of my faves Microgen is showing signs of another run up - picked up a nice div of over £1,000 there and it's doubled since I bought the first lot. .
Dragon Oil was worth holding onto as it's back up near to the attempted bid price. Another higher bid on the way?
The various doublers and treblers I have all look in good health for the new year - Petrofac especially. XP Power is a confirmed trebler now and the top up also 100 pts higher.
Avanti has gone nicely higher since I bought the spreadbet and hopefully more to come.
Nestor Heathcare is now very nicely into profit with the spreadbets now £3,000 in profit - good move last couple of days with some big buying and another nice rise today.
Jan's been good so far but glad I've also banked some profits. February is often a stinker so I'd expect to up the shorts a bit and be a bit more wary and perhaps grab a few more profits.
I've been getting e-mails regarding my use of direct market access and who I use. I've tried a few and for me the easiest system for me is here:
http://www.igmarkets.co.uk/?QPID=1079&QPPID=1
Direct market access means you can place orders directly onto the order book bypassing brokers and market-makers with a chance to buy at the "sell" price. I would suggest you ensure you know what you're doing first but IG does provide much education with its "tradesense" educational tool which comes with it.
I also use its spreadbetting service too along with other firms like Tradefair because it now provides trailing stops which to me is a pretty sensible way of trading. Link is here: -
http://www.igindex.co.uk/?QPID=1078&QPPID=1
that also includes a pretty decent educational programme. As usual before opening accounts please read all the warnings on the sites. You can lose a lot of money if you're not careful so pay close attention to them and make sure you always understand what you are doing and what your potential losses are.

I've also started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit.
So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply).
To get the offer, click here:
http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

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

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