Hey again Pan and Dave,

Lol Northern Rock was a killer, I don't think even a consistant and experienced trader could have won that one. I think it's knowing that you've lost and cutting your losses early is a lesson best learned sooner rather than later though. I got into the game at the start of this year and have spent a lot of time in the past 5 months learning everything, which has been great. You've got a head start on most people that jump in so make the most of it!

I had the same thoughts re:NRK about RBS a few months ago, pre "Record results 10 billion pounds" profit, it looked great and I got in. It dropped 25% in a matter of days. It was my second trade and I lost a few hundred - but learned some important lessons. So stop losses are vital, and so is good analysis - and just cut the ties when you're losing, you don't want your money sitting for months hoping for a recovery while double baggers that you've done analysis on pass you by (ReneSOLA!).

Dave's vids have helped me a lot so my advice is to check those out and keep track - and develop a quick and efficient picking method. I've started to use ADX/Stochastics/MACD and EMAs - as well as keeping a keen eye on developing trends, patterns like Ws, wedges and H&s etc. There is a lot to learn, but just jump in and soak it all up you'll be much better for it! Since watching these vids, you can just pick a good chart in a few seconds, add it to a watchlist then do some of your own style analysis. I'm not too much into fundamentals anymore though.

As for trading in the UK, unless you've got some serious clout (over £10k) it looks really hard to day trade stocks. Initially I wanted to be a medium/long term investor - but I want the action lol so I've started to swing trade. It's a good time for it at the moment as most stocks are recovering from the start of the year and forming some definitive trends (ok, a lot are down.. but at least you know to avoid them).

The volume in UK stocks is pretty depressing, same with the availability of good info so just do your research and stay calm and it should be good in the hood. For us lot, it's good to keep an eye on what the US markets are doing - specifically, watch out for the hot sectors there - as the UK seems to lag behind by a few days/weeks on that front.

Dual listed stocks - which there aren't many of - are worth watching to you can get a feel for how the US affects the UK. Also, it's good to keep checking the movements of the FTSE - as stocks go up and down with that on an intra-day basis. For example, on Friday the FTSE rallied strong and if you check most stock charts - there was some serious bullish engulfing! Keep an eye on the relative strength stocks, as these moves are triggered within minutes of a FTSE run.

I wouldn't normally suggest trading off 52 week lows, but in the last week I've clocked 2 - ADM and BAY which have been 15% returns - it seems like a good time to bottom fish the top 200 on lows - so long as they're historical and Sup/Res lines back a few years.

I keep a TA page for UK stocks that I update every few days just to keep a journal of my analysis and some thoughts on trading in the UK. (like Dave says, a journal is important!) I might give out the address of the site.. I'm not sure.. maybe I can email you and you can let me know what you think about it..?

Anyways, keep to paper and get efficient - then just go for it!

Steve W