Can we retail traders open an account somewhere and trade European stocks like FTSE100? Do we have to open an account Europe?
With IB you can trade European stocks including FT100 from a single Universal account. I am not a US citizen so I'm not sure what regulatory restrictions if any apply in US. I think IB's comissions are probably better than most if not all retail brokers in UK. In UK CFDs are popular for several reasons. High (insane ?) leverage, ease of shorting and exemption from the 0.5% stamp duty on stock purchase being some of them.
It costs a-lot more to trade with uk broker account, Thats why spread-betting is big in the uk, http://www.finspreads.com/
But look at the spreads, the spreads.... Maybe these are weekend quotes, but a spread of 2 points in the S&P is extreme. I often scalp for 1 or 2 points in the ES ( S&P Future).