Local internet stock trading is on the rise, says a Bermudian who is thinking about quitting his full-time job to invest his time and energies as well as his money in stock markets around the world.

"The Internet is the perfect stock investment tool. It has all the information you need and allows investors to buy and trade stocks and shares cheaply, efficiently and without a lot of fuss,'' said the insurance broker, who asked not to be identified by name.

"If my company found out that I was making money trading stocks when I'm at work, they would probably frown on the activity,'' he said. He takes the view that the few minutes he spends trading during the working day are not relevant to his standard job.

"I'm never out of here at 5 p.m.,'' he said. "Any time I borrow during the day is always repaid before the day is over.'' He continued: "Politicians are allowed time off to be politicians, smokers go outside for cigarette breaks every 15 minutes. If I choose to spend my spare time trading stocks and shares, I don't see that as any of my employer's business,'' the investor said.

Several individuals in Bermuda have begun trading stocks on the Internet, most acting as "day traders'', which means that they close out their positions before the end of the day, holding nothing at the close of business. Every day, for the "intra-day'' trader, is a fresh start.

"Can you make a full-time living doing this? Yes,'' said the investor. "Does it take more attention than I'm able to give it, since I already have a full-time job? Yes. Am I making a profit? Yes. Does that mean I can afford to quit my day job and live on the net? Maybe.'' Bermuda brokers often require a minimum investment of $25,000, while this particular investor has only sent his American broker $10,000.

"I'm still small fry, but as I make profits, I leave them in my investment account,'' he explained. "Each time I have a successful day, my capital mounts. I'm at $6,000 in profit and I only made my first investment last October.'' With the number of Internet subscribers expected to double this year and again next year, the number of small stock traders doing their business on the Net is bound to increase, say experts.

"It's the easiest thing in the world to make money on the Net right now, with the markets going up pretty much all the time,'' the investor said.

"What will sort the men from the boys and the girls from the women is what happens when the markets start declining. If that happens, I'd probably be happy to have my regular job.'' STOCK STK