Made redundant from a middle office job in a large investment bank. Looking to trade equities and futures on spread betting, using some of my redundancy money. DId my first trade on Barclays this morning - off of the back of this I-share news, £5 a point, with a 10pt stop loss. Ended up making £5, but its all good.. got confident and went for £5 pt on ftse future, got wiped out in 5 minutes, even though market was heading up when i put the trade on.. oh well. I am hoping to do this full time. I am FSA qualified, so I am aware up to a point of the workings of the markets, but keen to learn more about how to read charts, etc. Looking to write a business plan for myself as well this week.. have been in touch with friends to get in touch with friends?! who may have contacts in pop houses, where I could learn the ropes so to speak, and become more technical, rather than trading on gut instincts!!