Sarah, Editor, eFinancialCareers, HR & Recruitment,  Sun 23 Nov 08

Hi average Joe,

The 'Traders turn to spread betting' summary was admittedly pushing the boundaries in terms of what the FT article was reporting. But it may have some truth in it.

The relevant section of the FT article is towards the end, where it says -

'The company expected to open more than 22,000 financial accounts in the second quarter of the financial year...That compares with the same period last year when IG Group opened fewer than 10,000 accounts.'

The FT doesn't overtly state that traders in banks are responsible for opening those accounts. The summary was not meant to suggest that traders are spread betting as part of their jobs.

However, it would seem reasonable to assume that some of the traders who are now out of the market have opened spread betting accounts. This was the implication - although not very clearly spelt out!