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The holy grail for anyone looking to trade is understanding how to make a profit. The big banks have just finished their reporting season and in many instances we’ve seen that the doom and gloom of last year is now slipping away, so how do their traders manage to make their profits – and what can we learn from this? Below we outline four ‘golden rules’ that could offer some insights to successful trading.

1) Always understand your market. A range of fundamental factors will have the potential to move the price of an asset and it is always useful to be aware of these. As an example, a change in interest rate policy can impact exchange rates whilst earnings news will directly influence a company’s share price. If you’re looking for a longer term trade, you should give some thought to just how volatile the market can get while you have an open position and either adjust your stop loss accordingly – or perhaps close out the trade for a day or two. Continue reading ‘4 Golden Rules to Follow in the Quest For Profitable Spread Betting’ »

When people think about financial spread betting, they often focus first on ’stock picking’, that is, which market to trade, and then second on determining an entry point. A distant third, if considered at all at the outset of the trade, is the exit point.

An exit strategy is a point of vital importance for successful financial spread betting, however, and an excellent way to implement the exit of a spread bet is through the use of a stop order. Placing a stop on an open position is all about exiting your position once the market is moving against you. If you have decided that a certain price movement would mean that you no longer wish to hold your position, a stop helps to enforce the discipline of keeping to that decision when the time comes and also executes your exit if you are not in a position to monitor the market. Continue reading ‘Stop Management in Spread Betting’ »

Financial spread betting is a massively growing industry. Starting with IG Index in the 1970s, it is now available through a wealth of different providers. One of the main reasons for this growth in popularity is because financial betting lets bettors bet on declining markets, something we are seeing right now in the recession. But what is it?

Betting on the financial spreads is different from normal betting at a traditional bookmakers. Instead of betting on a final event, you are buying points. It is easiest to explain with the use of an example. Continue reading ‘What is Financial Spread Betting?’ »