Some interesting ideas here, certainly have considered short...

Some interesting ideas here, certainly have considered short selling but at the moment I consider that a highly advanced skill so will hold off that for the time being. For my reference though is this normally done through CFDs or is it possible for retail investors to actually borrow shares from brokers? If so which broker does this?

I share the concern with the penny dreadfuls feels more like gambling then investing with the wild swings down there. One suggestion I have heard is to trade asx200 with leverage through CFDs any one else doing that? Other than the obvious concerns about margin calls is there any other pitfalls there?