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What has happened to the US economy? It can’t all be the ‘The Obama effect’, can it? Whatever you think of US foreign policy or their ability to ruin the world’s economies you have to admire their tenacity at fighting back from the gutter of financial disaster.

The USD has fought hard against other currencies recently, driving the pound and the Euro down as well as causing a ripple effect amongst home economists. There was a buoyant mood in America last week but it could have come crashing down had the employment data not been as bad as expected. The market readied itself for bad news and it got bad news but the effect on the market was minimal.

One country that has been slightly buffeted from the financial crisis has been China-until now. This of course has consequences for those of us that are trying to predict share prices through spread betting and forex trading as betting on how far and when the share index will fall.

The picture is confusing because last week the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 26.68 points, or 1.42 percent, to 1,904.86. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 102.9 points, or 1.56 percent, to 6,719.88 suggesting strength rather than weakness. However, the latest report by the World Economic Forum implies that China is headed for a ‘heavy landing’ this year.

When you’re looking for a good financial trading site from which to do your spread betting you need to look for ones that have a reputation to maintain. You will require a site that has a good turnover and a trading platform that inspires confidence in investors has clear trading policy whilst at the same time offering its customers flexibility.

The company must appeal to new online traders as well as offering a sense of authority in the market for existing well established traders. You will also require the site to be educational keeping you up to date with the latest market gossip and offer advice on new shares.

Making a killing on the Dow takes skill and practice. The ‘skill’ aspect arrives after the practice of course as with any pastime once you have practiced the more skilful you become. The same can be said of spread betting.

Spread betting the daily Dow Jones can bring great returns if you apply some simple rules, general ‘dos’ and don’ts’ and of course practice. The ideal situation to have is for you to call the rise or fall of the Dow correctly and make a good profit on the amount of points you have gained either way. Calling the direction of the Dow takes analytical skill, practice and luck.

There seems to be an awful lot made of the fact that more women are becoming spread betters and getting into fx trading than in previous years (reportedly a 10% increase) although, when you analyse some of the reasons why more women are becoming interested then the increase doesn’t seem so remarkable.

Women’s retirement provision has been lessened because of the credit crisis and the fall in pension funds; this has led some women to try the investment market themselves.

Although spread betting is different to trading in shares the returns can be higher and more readily realised in the form of untaxed profit. Also, whilst women are less likely to gamble to make big gains (and potential losses) they are more likely to build a steady profit margin.

Although many investors would like to see the back of 2008 it is worth looking back over a few statistics about the year in financial terms as it may help to inform us over our spread betting.

The FTSE 100 took a battering- there’s no other way of putting it- sinking to its lowest value since April 2003. As the start of the year saw the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Government’s £500 billion rescue for British banks were there any winners at all?

In order to become good at financial spread betting you should keep in mind four fundamental conventions which should see you minimising the loss and accentuating the profit margins, although as you know nothing is a dead cert.

Here we go then, firstly, you must have self control. You must know when to bet and when to cut your losses. In doing so you will start to learn how the market moves and what you can and can’t do within that market.

Mistakes are made by some people who sell short because they forget some of the fundamentals of the short game. It’s little wonder that only 3 per cent of financial betting and spread betting is done this way but once you know a few fundamentals you might wish to dip your toe in this lucrative world of spread trading.

Where some people go wrong is forgetting to follow the market trend- you need to analyse the price movements over several months not just a week or so. Look out for dim profit warnings which should result in a market slump and then, watch out for a rally on the market where prices should rise.

Forex trading has its advantages over trading in shares and bonds in a few key areas. The turnover in world trade of foreign exchange is vastly superior to that of the stock market which leaves you with a whole chunk of numbers to play around with to seek a winning formula.

Three of the other main advantages of fx trading are the control available, the high liquidity 24 hours a day and the extremely low dealing costs associated with trading.