Bets and the City

Author's site

www.sallynicoll.com

Jacket text for Bets and the City

"Markets. They go up. They go down. How difficult can it be?"

Sally Nicoll begins her spread betting journey with magnificently misplaced optimism. Join her on this rollercoaster ride to hardened pessimist - and wised-up realist.

Funny, frank, factual

Should we be afraid that in the digital era, anyone with a broadband connection and a few hundred pounds can gatecrash the elite world of City traders - even if, like Sally Nicoll, they are numerically dyslexic?

Sally is looking for a source of extra cash to fund a sabbatical while she writes a novel, and decides spread betting is the answer. She tries to open an account with Finspreads - "their web site has the best colour scheme" - only to discover she's been credit blacklisted. Instead of being thankful for divine intervention, she complains to the marketing department and is hired to write an online trading blog.

Bets and the City is based on Sally's enormously popular column for Finspreads. In between the funny bits, there's some really useful information:

- Never take a holiday in Cornwall when you're speculating on sterling against the dollar
- Why you should resist the temptation to be kind to your mother
- Sensible advice from the man who lost $10 million in a single trading session
- Why women make better traders than men
- The simple trade that enables you to turn your computer into a cash register

Sally's romp through the City, combined with her anecdotes of hanging out in celebrity-studded Primrose Hill, will appeal to investors, gamblers, and anyone who enjoys playing with money. And prepare to be entertained by Sally's spread betting accomplice, a Jack Russell called Dow Jones...

Chapter headings for Bets and the City

1. In which my dad teaches me the Golden Rule of gambling
2. To make �1 million, all I need is a computer and an Internet connection
3. I am rash, but not stupid
4. I trade my entire knowledge for one cup of coffee
5. The meaning of stop-loss leverage And an offer I must refuse
6. Thirteen advantages of spread betting - but only one company for my account
7. An inauspicious start - I am accused of a criminal past
8. I prove my innocence, open my Finspreads account and win something for a rainy day
9. The Welshman invites me to write about my new life as a novice spread better
10. Mr. Big's Top Ten Tips And why you should never be kind to your mother
11. My first trades reveal if I am a chicken or a pig
12. Random trading for less than the minimum wage
13. Commonsense spread betting wins me pretty new underwear and two free tanks of petrol
14. How my next spread bet is prompted by a Japanese fighting dog
15. In which I almost make �900 - but it all goes horribly wrong
16. Behind the scenes in the dealing room - so near yet so far from the customer who's �750,000 in profit
17. Trader's block and a four-legged Dow Jones
18. Expert advice takes me in a new direction
19. What happens when I ignore expert advice?
20. Why I decide to dump my biggest winner
21. There's a market worth $1.5 trillion a day I'll have some of that!
22. A series of unfortunate events
23. Making money from the Government
24. Is this the darkest hour?
25. I give up spread betting and make a new friend
26. The Welshman's final words of encouragement help me back to winning ways
27. I have nine winning trades. Does it really matter if we don't know what's driving the market?
28. Do women make better traders than men?
29. My New Year Trading Plan And tragic news about the Google share price
30. I do well enough to start dreaming about villas in the South of France - and a yacht
31. Pride comes before a fall
32. I am commanded from beyond the grave to continue my trading education
33. I finally get the hang of spread betting And make nineteen successive winning trades
34. Pride comes before a fall (Part 11)
35. Sensible advice from a man who lost $10m - in a single day
36. My spread betting secret is out!
37. 40% profit in six months
38. In which I have my head examined
39. I find my spread betting methodology tattooed on human flesh
40. Madness in my methodology?
41. In which I turn my computer into a cash register
42. The Four Pillars of Trading Strategy
43. I attend Traders' University
44. I break the Traders University rules - and the promise of imminent wealth is dangled before me
45. In which I stop gambling and begin to trade
46. Sex, lies and Paul McCartney

About Sally Nicoll

Sally Nicoll has a ready-made fanbase, and the word is about to spread a whole lot wider. Before squandering her fortune on financial trading and novel writing, she spent many years as an advertising copywriter, persuading people how - and where - to spend their money. She will be actively involved in the marketing of Bets and the City, with radio appearances already booked.

More about Sally Nicoll