First of all, thanks to everyone who has welcomed me back to the world of blogging… this post is your reward!

More to the point, it’s an attempt to ‘answer’ all who have said: “Sally, we’re glad you’ve been winning. But how about more detail on the trades and how you came to pick them?”

So. This one. The Dow has dropped sharply this afternoon. That’s the first thing I noticed. The clincher, however, is that America is on holiday on Monday… and markets often rise the day after the day off.

I am in (just for £1 a point) at 11565. With a stop loss - of course! - at 11495. In an ideal world, I’d have waited till nearer the end of day to see how the rest of the session pans out, but I thought it was worth a trade.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT ANY SORT OF A TIP. MY TRADES OFTEN GO HIDEOUSLY WRONG, AND YOU’LL BE MUCH BETTER OFF PICKING YOUR OWN ONES! THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN I CHOOSE TO TRADE.

Delighted to report we’ve now fixed the link between my website and Finspreads… So if I STILL haven’t managed to put you off spread betting, just take my name in vain when you fill in their online application form, deposit £100, and they’ll give you the £50 bonus I’ve negotiated for my readers.

A 50% return! Can’t be bad.

Full details at www.sallynicoll.com

It’s been quite a while. As you might - just - remember, I came rushing back to Primrose Hill when my insurers told me they were going to fix the subsidence on my house.

Since then, life has been chaotic. An endless round of packing and unpacking. Moving to temporary accommodation. (Still in Primrose Hill, and Dow Jones has swapped his view of a Spanish beach for life on the Regent’s Park Canal, which is much to his liking, so it’s not all bad.)

My days have been absorbed with the sheer frustration of trying to get phone lines put in. This is a true story: The people at BT, having twice lost my application for a landline, actually advised me to reapply online. “Much safer than trying to do it on the phone,” said the man with the Geordie accent. No kidding. Having triumphed with a landline, my next mission was to secure broadband. I didn’t choose BT. Or Virgin, who were unable to supply me with a phone line in the first place. But then I came across an outfit called PlusNet. Highly recommended.

Meanwhile, of course, the markets were doing the same as Nicoll Towers: Sinking. We are officially in a bear market…. recession looming….

At least I had an email connection, enabling me to reply to several dozen messages, all of which posed the same essential question: “With the markets falling, is this a bad time to take up spread betting. Wouldn’t I be better off waiting.”

My response: ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO WAIT! THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO TRY IT OUT.

Well, I would say that. Wouldn’t I?

Er yes. But only because it’s true.

I have learned to love few things in life more than a market that is trending steadily down (or up; the key words are trend and steady). It makes winning trades so much easier.

Over the past three months I have done extremely well shorting Barclays, for instance. And - one of my favourites - Apple. Not to mention Redrow. Basically, the banks, housebuilders, airlines and retail are all having a dreadful time…. which represents an opportunity to cash in.

Now then. I’m DEFINITELY not suggesting you leap in and short the markets I’ve just mentioned. At present, I’m still in a Redrow trade, but only just, as the price is almost at my stop loss, and - inevitably - I’m wishing I’d got out earlier. Most of my winning trades have lasted for a week or so…. I’ve monitored them closely while they’ve been in play. And I’m getting better at knowing when to take profits.

Profits. Yep, during the year to date, although I have been trading only sporadically, I am making money. At least!

Did well on oil while it was rocketing up in a nice straight line. Gold has been fun, too - as a short. And I did hugely well shorting the S&P 500 index… until I repatriated too much of my profit to the Nice People at Finspreads when the trend annoyingly reversed itself, and I was being stubborn. The charts never lie…

Anyway. My temporary accommodation is sorted. And it’s probably going to be less temporary than I imagined, since my insurers and Camden Council have yet to agree about the work that needs to be done to unsubside me. So hopefully I’ll be able to trade on a more regular basis again from now.

And yes, I promise to update the blog more frequently, as well!

Any questions, just give me a shout!