Your Transnational Property Market — Served by Property Index

Even if the Property Index is only a young concern, (they were founded in March 2007), they were very quick to gain in reputation. In point of fact a rather artless concern focusing on proposing guidance to any individual planning to buy, sell, etc. property across the world. Their promise is to assist you uncover smack what’s looked for very swiftly and, as well, without hassle.

Real estate is available for the asking in a wide selection of areas across the globe nowadays, probably the most fashionable area being real estate available for sale in France. It should be a no brainer to list a slew of the phenomenal realty available for sale in France, the rationale for hunting for property here is a combination of the houses and apartments available and the possibility to live with this lively and vigorous populace. This is one of the truly sought after markets nowadays, and with the overall attractiveness and wonderful weather surrounding you, who could be wrong! Real estate in France is steeped in history, art and culture, this part of the world has a long tradition as a home to a number of sophisticated cultures.

There are a range of properties in France for sale on Property Index, from villas to apartments.

Only 25-30 years back you’d find a mere dribble of UK citizens in search of realty in France. Ask any one single person who has moved to France and they’re likely to tell you the same. Many people would descry it as a passing trend and others descry it as a virtually an addiction! Clients that relocate to this region may range from young well to do couples looking for a bit of a new life perspective to the older generation who intend to enjoy themselves and rest. Note that there may well be setbacks when looking to purchase realty abroad; there’s a hundred actions to cope with be it when working out a plan, popping in or finalizing the deal. If you miss out on but a single action this is liable to definitely kick up large setbacks not to forget, even more importantly, a financial hammering.

As you will likely have expected with this favored region, realty might well be high-priced in this destination and that’s naturally a result of the peaking market demand. However, the buyer is patently pretty spoilt for choice in a place so full of merry countryside and superb vista. It presently has the whole ball of wax just about anyone could wish for, and more.

Property Index - a Renowned Multi National Property Info Centre

Property Index are specialists for property in Spain, view the site to see the different properties.

In spite of the fact that Property Index is still a recent concern, doing business since March 2007, they have become experts very quickly. On closer scrutiny, they are a fairly accessible concern dedicated to offering instruction to every customer who is planning to sell assets across the world. They pledge to assist you unearth precisely what’s needed quickly and, moreover, sans pain. Real estate can be found across the globe in our times, probably the coolest area being properties for sale in Spain. It’s straightforward to tally the fun property you can purchase in Spain, the argument for investigating properties here is property for sale and the great possibility of being able to live among such a energetic and enthusiastic population.

This is one of the truly fashionable countries in our times, and with the beauty and wonderful climate that surrounds you all year, who could say no? Real estate in Spain is steeped in history, this part of the world has always been home to more than a few civilizations. Only 25-30 years back there’d be merely a trickle of English keen on property in Spain. Just ask everyone who has moved to Spain and they’ll back it up. Many people would insist on labeling it a fashion and others insist on labeling it a that’s more or less an infatuation. Patrons intending to move to this place may range from young freshly weds looking for a challenge to elderly people looking to enjoy being retired.

Bear in mind, though, that you may encounter some complications when buying property abroad - you can find there are 100s of procedures whether organising, paying a visit or completing. If you only miss but a single minor step it may easily create broad complications as well as, more importantly, money loss. As is to be expected with this well-liked region, property might be expensive in this location and that is just on account of the expanding demand. Yet, homebuyers patently are hard to please in such a place determined by superb geography. It doubtlessly has almost all anyone might covet, and plenty more.

Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: June 16, 2006

It’s Friday June 16, 2006, and we had some follow through in yesterdays trading session as the Nasdaq shot up over 2.8%, the S&P 500 jumped 2.1% and the Dow pushed its way through the 11,000 mark. But the volume on the Indexes weren’t as heavy as they should’ve been with these gains. It would’ve been a better situation for this jump to spread over a couple of days to avoid a big pullback but the market hung in there. So we may see a slight pullback today but we are looking for additional upside before the weekend.

Now lets take a look at Natural Gas. July natural gas rallied up over 61 cents to over $7.2 per mil BTU. That brings us to a company that we were hesitant about when it was over the $25 number because of a couple of reasons. First it was in a downward trading pattern and second their main source of revenue comes from the Gulf Coast, most specifically New Orleans, LA. Now it’s still a risky situation but under $19 your downside should be limited compared to the upside potential.

We spoke about precious and base metals moving on the upside on Thursday and that’s exactly what they did by the end of the trading day. Bringing many of the gold, silver, and copper stocks right along with it. Companies like Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP), BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), Crystallex International (AMEX: KRY), Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), Peru Copper (AMEX: CUP) and Bema Gold (AMEX: BGO) move higher, but the big boys didn’t do too shabby either as Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU) added $5.94 to close at $77.94, Phelps Dodge (NYSE: PD) shot up $4.23 to close at $80.64, U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) rose $4.51 to close at $64.00 and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) traded up $4.66 to close at $55.57.

Now the precious and base metal stocks were not the only ones to do the whatoosie, oil and oil related stocks joined the party as companies like Petroleo Brasil (NYSE: PBR) which traded up $5.37 to close at $78.47, Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII) which traded up $6.59 to close at $78.96 and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) which traded up $5.06 to close at $52.69 added to the rally as crude oil prices rose.

Now we should see follow through today in the oil sector as traders may be covering their short positions ahead of the weekend.

Political Front

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is continuing to get as much out of this tense situation as possible as he said a set of incentives and penalties aimed at persuading Tehran to curtail its nuclear programs was a positive step but left the door open in regards to how they would respond. So the beat goes on.

In the United States, President Bush inked the paperwork that has established the largest ocean wildlife reserve in the world. It is located along a string of islands and reefs that stretch 1,400 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. So President Bush is on a roll as this is sure to tack on to his favorable rating.

Sticking to the U.S., House Republicans have structured a debate on Iraq to show support for the U.S. Troops. The intent is to force lawmakers to take a position either way on withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq in its fourth year. This is scheduled to kick off today.

Tid Bits

The founder of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and one the richest people on the planet, Bill Gates, will be hanging up his day to day hat at the company by 2008, he will be passing the baton to his Chief Technology Officer Ray Ozzie when he steps down. Gates will be concentrating on his charitable efforts through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Now rumors are spreading rapidly that Steve Ballmer will be the next to step aside as the software giant struggles to find a way to keep itself relevant in the coming years as companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) are nipping at its heels.

China Construction Bank is having a fire sale as they have sold a decent portfolio of reposed mortgage assets with a face value of US$120 million (960 million yuan) to a foreign investment group. They only received 19% of the face value of the assets, so hence the fire sale. This included both commercial property and land. This is just the start as they are scheduled to unload another billion plus worth of repossessed mortgages by year-end.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is on a tear as they have just unveiled a government site search, basically this is a new function that will allow web surfers to locate data and information that are available on federal agency websites. This should come in handy not only for web surfers but for the government agencies themselves, giving their employees access to information quickly and easily.

After a series of question and answer sessions with the U.S Attorney’s Office and the SEC, it came to light that the former CEO of the New York Stock Exchange Richard Grasso took the 5th over 150 times during the numerous sessions with them. Grasso brought value to the NYSE during his tenure, he was attacked for his compensation package, which was voted on by the then members of the NYSE, and he continues to be hounded as it relates to the AIG situation. This is a developing situation.

Movers and Shakers

Some major movers in yesterdays trading session included Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER), which traded up $5.44 to close at $37.43 on Thursday. The stock just rode the momentum of the sector and you should see some follow through in today’s trading session.

GFI Group Inc (NASDAQ: GFIG) shot up yesterday after Citigroup Investment Research upgraded the stock from a Hold to A Buy. It rose $5.42 to close at $52.05.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) shot up $4.78 to close at $68.05, which brings the stock closer to its 52 week high. But we may see a pullback on the stock after the quick run up.

Steve Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) was upgraded to a Strong Buy from an Accumulate by C.L. King, this upgrade sent the stock up $4.64 to close at $30.08. Now the stock still has legs as it could continue it forward motion and reach the $33 maybe $35 mark in the coming weeks.

CEMEX (NYSE: CX) traded up $5.10 to close at $54.64, the company agreed to cancel a US$400-500 million arbitration case against the Indonesian government over a failed put option deal for acquiring a majority stake in PT Semen Gresik. Now it still remains to be seen if this cancellation will open the doors for Cemex to close a US$337 million deal to sell its 24 plus percent Gresik stake to the Rajawali Group. If they do get the green light this could boost the stock further.

Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) kick off the financial sector upward swing when they reported blockbuster numbers, the stock rose $7.36 to close at $131.56, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) traded up $5.62 to close at $144.12 and Black Rock (NYSE: BLK) settled in as it traded up $5.82 to close at $128.33. The whole sector moved higher but we are not going to list every company that moved up. A lot of the brokerage stocks are still not peaking so keep an eye on them, as they are sure to move much higher in 2006.

Other stocks that made nice moves on Thursday include Freightcar America (NASDAQ: RAIL) traded up $4.84 to close at $52.04, Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) traded up $4.79 to close at $74.13, PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) traded up $4.71 to close at $99.18, American Commercial Lines (NASDAQ: ACLI) traded up 45.16 to close at $50.86,

Under Ten

Some stocks that made moves on the upside under ten bucks include Encysive Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENCY), the company stated that the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing their drug to treat high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, a condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension. This sent the stock up over $1.96 to close at $7.01 Back in March the company delayed its study with TBC3711 and the stock dropped from $9.45 to $4.60 within a couple of days, so you may still see some upward movement on Encysive going into next week.

Other stocks that moved higher yesterday under ten bucks included Datalink (NASDAQ: DTLK) which traded up $1.21 to close at $6.16, Daystar Technologies (NASDAQ: DSTI) traded up 98 cents to close at $9.38, Volcano Corp (NASDAQ: VOLC) traded up 95 cents to close at $9.95, Home Solutions America (AMEX: HOM) traded up 90 cents to close at $7.70, Neopharm, Inc (NASDAQ: NEOL) traded up 89 cents to close at $6.87 and 24/7 Real Media (NASDAQ: TFSM) which traded up 81 cents to close at $7.69.

Downers

Believe it or not there were some stocks that actually traded down yesterday and they include PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ: PNRG) which traded down $3.33 to close at $78.47, VeraSun energy (NYSE: VSE) the recent Ethanol IPO dropped down $2.85 to close at $27.15, Nutrisystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) traded down $2.16 to close at 457.42, TeleFlex, Inc (NYSE: TFX) dropped $2.10 to close at $51.28, Daily Journal (NASDAQ: DJCO) traded down $1.19 to close at $38.10 and Altus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALTU) traded down $1.12 to close at $18.27.

Now some stocks under ten bucks that received the royal smack down yesterday include Catalyst Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CATS) which traded down 55 cents to close at $3.62, Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX) traded down 23 cents to close at $4.77, Electro Sensors (NASDAQ: ELSE) traded down 17 cents to close at $4.18 and Advanced Environmental Recycling Tech (NASDAQ: AERTA) traded down 13 cents to close at $3.33.

Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Recent Analyst upgrades include Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) which was upgraded to an Accumulate from a Neutral by C.L. King, Sovran Self Storage (NYSE: SSS) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold by AG Edwards, Solectron Corp (NYSE: SLR) was upgraded to a Peer Perform from a Under Perform by Bear Stearns and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was upgraded to a Buy from a Neutral by UBS.

Recent Analyst downgrades include Catalyst Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CATS) which was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by Needham & Co, CV Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CVTX) which was downgraded to a Market Perform from an Outperform by Piper Jaffray, General Mills (NYSE: GIS) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by Citigroup Investment Research, and Volt Information Sciences (NYSE: VOL) which was downgraded to a Neutral from a buy by Sidoti & Co.

Recent analyst coverage initiations include Bright Inc (NASDAQ: CELL) it was initiated with a Hold rating by Jefferies & Co, Nova Chemical (NYSE: NCX) was initiated with a Sector Performer rating by CIBC World Markets, FLIR Systems (NASDAQ: FLIR) was initiated with a Buy rating by BB&T Capital Markets and News Corp (NYSE: NWS) which was initiated with a Peer Perform rating by Bear Stearns.

FURIOUS FIVE

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HAPPY FATHERS DAY

We want to wish a Happy Fathers Day to investing fathers around the world.

We cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, it’s only for your protection. When it comes to thinly traded securities stagger your orders or put a limit order in to avoid a run up.

NAMC Newswire Note

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Disclaimer:
None of the information contained on the NAMC Newswire constitutes a recommendation by the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, nor its parent company that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific investors or person. Each individual investor must make their own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio Any past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The NAMC Newswire, its journalist nor its parent company does not guarantee any specific outcome or profit, and all investors should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments featured on the NAMC Newswire or the NAMC Radio. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and investors may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information featured on the NAMC Newswire website or the NAMC Radio segment, investors should consider whether it is suitable for their particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from their own financial or investment adviser. Investors are also urged to do their own due diligence before investing in any security.

All opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio are based upon information that is considered to be reliable, but neither the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, its parent company, affiliates nor assigns warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. The statements and opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire by its journalist are based on their outlook at the time of the statement or opinion, and are subject to change without notice. NAMC may at times hold a position in the companies that it features, in these cases appropriate disclosure is made.

Wall Street Paradigm

In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in Switzerland discovered that a small crystal would vibrate at a constant rate. He found this was so accurate that it could be used to calibrate time so he took it to company management and said it would make an entirely new kind of watch that had no springs and no gears. They could not imagine who would want such a thing. Swiss watches dominated world commerce. They did not even bother to patent it.

The inventor took his new idea to a commercial trade show, set up his booth and tried to interest manufacturers to produce his new kind of watch. Of the thousand people only 2 were willing to try it - Texas Instruments and Seiko Corp. of Japan. Ten years later the Swiss manufacture of watches had shrunk to 10% of it former production.

It took a complete change of thinking to produce this new model because most people are rooted in the old way and are reluctant to change. The new model, the new paradigm is refused.

Now I want you to think about another paradigm. This time a model for your investment portfolio.

Wall Street has been teaching since time began to Buy and Hold. When your stock or mutual fund heads south you are not to worry about it because “the market always comes back”. But my question is, “In your lifetime?” There are thousands of stocks that go up then go down and never recover. You might have some of those in your bank vault.

Here is the change in thinking you need to incorporate. Instead of blindly holding and suffering through a major decline, place a stop-loss order about 10% or 15% below the price. This is especially true when you first buy. The most important thing every professional investor does is protect his capital. You never need worry about how much you will make. Your major concern should be how much will I lose if this turns into a mangy dog. After you have owned this gem and it does go up you can replace the stop-loss order at a higher level and continue to do that (monthly) until you are finally stopped out (sold out) when this puppy starts down.

Your broker will not want to do this for one very simple reason. He then becomes responsible to see that the order is executed because if it isn’t he will have to make up the difference out of his pocket. He will actually have to watch your account for a change. If he gives you a hard time find another broker.

Customers are not taught this simple method of thinking about the stock market because it creates additional paperwork for the brokerage company. You must change your thinking. This is a better way than how the big brokerage houses tell you. This paradigm will allow you to make more money because when you are sold out and have cash in your account you will be able to find a better stock or mutual fund.

Strangely there is a similarity to the Wall Street thinking and that of the Swiss watchmaker. If the watch manufacturer had opened his mind he could have expanded his business and held on to the world dominance of timepiece manufacture. If the major brokerage houses taught their brokers and customers to make money (which they don’t) they would increase their income and have many satisfied investors. Instead of holding on to a losing position the customer would be sold out (another commission) and have cash to buy into a different stock or mutual fund (another commission). It would result very quickly in doubling the amount of trading and protect their clients from substantial losses.

Brokers almost never tell their people to sell. Of the more than 8000 listed stocks there are currently only 87 sell recommendations. It is customary after a stock loses 50% of its value to be downgraded to “hold”. And you know where you are holding it while you watch it go lower and lower.

You are obviously smarter than your broker. No one will take better care of your money than you do. Isn’t it time to adopt this old, but unused paradigm?

Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy
It!” has helped thousands of people make money
and keep their profits with his simple 2-step
method. Read the first chapter at
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street
does not want you to know.

1-888-345-7870; al@mutualfundstrategy.com

Trading Psychology - Consecutive Loses AND The Trading Psychology Spiral

You go long and the market immediately goes down - you go short
and the market immediately goes up. That’s 2 consecutive losses,
and you are getting a little ‘anxious’ so you don’t take the
‘next’ trade. Of course, this trade is a winner. Now to make the
situation worse, you then ‘chase’ the move, and as soon as you
enter the trade it immediately reverses, thus giving you another
loss - this is now 3 in a row. Ok one more ‘try’ - this can’t
happen on every trade can it?

This time though, you will be real clever. You have noticed that
the market is in a range, and it’s the bounce from the
low/retrace from the high that is causing all the problems. So
this time, the next trade you take will be a range extreme fade
AND the hell with your trading method. The market is at the
range low, and per your new ‘on the fly’ trading plan, you go
long. Instead of bouncing again, the range immediately breaks
out to the downside. Not only does this give you consecutive
loser 4, but the loss occurred from trading against one of your
‘best’ method trade setups, and becomes a trade which is giving
enough profit to pay for the previous 3 losers, and make you net
ahead.

Now what are you supposed to do - QUIT? AND to be sure that
there is no more temptation - your throw your computer out the
window, and dive out right behind it. You are in a trading
psychology spiral.

WHAT is a Trading Psychology Spiral?

I think of a trading psychology spiral as the transition from
trading losses that you have accepted both as a part of your
trading method, and as something that is inevitable in trading,
into a surge of emotions that continually builds to a point
where you can no longer accept anything. As this eventually
’spirals’ out of control - trading method becomes completely
ignored, and is then replaced by emotional responses and
decisions for everything that is done. Even if quitting was
really the only viable thing to do at the time, the trading
psychology spiral can cause an emotional response where this
isn’t even considered, until the situation becomes so desperate,
that the trader can’t take it any longer AND does have to quit.

This isn’t a discussion about emotions and trading, and the
various fears and issues that keeps a trader from trading to
begin with; as we know, emotions are an inherent part of trading
- you learn to control them OR you can’t trade. This is a
discussion about emotions that are typically controlled well
enough so that you ‘can’ trade, but then something happens where
the trader loses that control, and their emotions spiral. A
series of consecutive losing trades, especially those caused by
deviating from the trading plan, are a root cause for this
happening.

This also isn’t about something that happens only to
inexperienced and unprofitable traders. There are going to be
those times where nothing a trader does will work, and that
result is going to be a series of consecutive losers. So the
situation is the same, it’s the reaction that may be different.
For instance, traderA may go into a panic causing them to spiral
out of control, losing all self-confidence and self-trust, and
ultimately more money than was intended. On the other hand,
traderB may go into a period of revenge trading, coupled with an
increase of their trading size, as they are ’sure’ that each
next trade is going to bring them back to even. Also, a spiral
out of control, and the losses continue - AND also a loss of
more money than was intended. WHAT does traderC do?

Controlling The Trading Psychology Spiral

Consider: each time a tpsych spiral occurs AND you go out of
control - the quicker the next spiral is going to occur, and the
faster you will go out of control when it happens. This is going
to continue, until trading becomes too painful, and you will not
be willing to trade any longer.

Consider: it is better to work through the emotions instead of
quitting. Quitting is too easy, and this provides no solution or
aid in preventing this from coming back and intensifying each
time you have a rough period. As well, you have lost the ability
to ‘count’ on yourself when you need to do so the most. To
control a tpsych spiral, before you go out of control, is a
tremendous win in and of itself. Do this, and get your trading
back on track, and you will have made gains the value of which
you can’t imagine, as you will know that you may have losing
periods BUT you can trust yourself to remain in control, and not
magnify the damage.

In light of this, take what you believe to be your key trading
issues, write them on an index card, and stick them on to your
monitor. The objective is realization and awareness, thus making
these issues available to your conscious as a reminder, instead
of only available to your subconscious as a problem. As you make
your notes BE SURE that you are writing short non-judgmental
notes - DON’T let the ’solution’ make the ‘problem’ worse.

For instance, consider the combination of a build of emotions
coming from consecutive losses which are also occurring during
congestion - write notes similar to these on your card:

a build in emotions may come from a series of quick consecutive
losses quick consecutive losses often come from trading inside
of congestion are your losses ‘base’ congestion method trades OR
are you overtrading there is nothing wrong with ‘base’ method
trade loses your trading results are fine when you ‘base’ method
trade

Now consider the same situation BUT different notes:

don’t be a stupid idiot and overtrade congestion like you always
do you are going to lose your ass and end up with another losing
day like usual you do this same crap every day and the same
thing happens you have no reason to even trade if this is all
that you are going to do

Remain Neutral

Remain neutral - another note for your index cards.

Another approach may be to write notes that include the things
you can remember yourself doing or feeling as you transition
from acceptable emotion to tpsych spiraling, for instance:
shortness of breath - sweating - squirming in your chair -
unable to sit down. AND as the spiraling becomes more intense:
cussing - screaming - throwing things - breaking things. UNTIL
the spiraling is out of control: panic - desperation. Clearly,
there is a whole list of physical responses to uncomfortable
emotional situations; realizing them as they occur may be a step
in controlling them before they ‘take-over’ and lead to
spiraling.

Be Aware

I want to know the potential for the spiraling situation. It is
VERY important to acknowledge that you have emotions, and not
try to ignore them or hide from them as a solution to the
problem OR because you perceive them to be a sign of weakness.
This actually will just make the situation worse. You are human
- humans have emotions - emotions become more intense in more
difficult situations. So, I don’t need to know how I am going to
have responded as I go out of control. I do need to know, and
have something to remember, and/or think about, that can keep
this from happening - that can keep me as neutral as possible,
in what would be the more difficult trading periods - something
that will ‘push’ me back to tmethod AND ‘away’ from tpsych.

WHAT does traderC do?

traderC is the trader who remains the most neutral in winning
and losing; the most neutral in all situations. It’s this
neutrality that becomes essential in keeping the emotions from
becoming a trading psychology spiral, as the trader can
‘accurately’ evaluate their losses in terms of method. This
trader will only trade their most ‘base’ method setups after any
difficult period AND IF these lose, so be it, that possibility
has already been accepted. Go on to the next method trade - it
probably will be a winner.

Pension Advice for A-Day!

It has been claimed that A-Day is set to be the biggest shake-up that pensions in the UK have experienced in over 60 years but it has also left many wondering what A-Day is and what pension advice they will need to prepare for it. Below we take a closer look at A-Day and what it might mean for the average worker.

What is A-Day?

A-Day refers to the changes to the UK pensions which is set to occur in April this year.

What is the aim of A-Day?

The main idea behind A-Day is to “increase choice and flexibility for all”. The government’s broad aim in the introduction of the new pension rules in April 2006 is to simplify the existing pension rules. The rules will affect all pensions including personal and work pensions. In a nutshell, A-Day aims to take the pressure off agencies that need to give pension advice by actually simplifying the whole pension system.

What pension changes will occur with A-Day?

•The Standardisation of Tax Free Cash - The tax-free cash sum entitlement currently differs between Pension Schemes. Furthermore, the entitlement in the Occupational Pension Schemes can actually be less than 25%. The simplified pension rules will ensure that Tax Free Cash allowance of all Pension Schemes is set at 25% of the fund value as standard. If you have an occupational pension where the tax-free cash entitlement is higher than 25% then you will need to seek pension advice from an experienced Independent Financial Adviser, who will be able to help you protect this right.

•Alternatively Secured Pension - An Alternatively Secured Pension will also be introduced which will mean that after the age of 75 withdrawal of income will be known as “Alternatively Secured Pension” and will be similar to income drawdown. This allows you to draw an income, up to a maximum of 70% of the highest single-life annuity, each year from your pension fund.

•Greater Flexibility in Investment - There will also be greater flexibility in investment including the provision enabling you to hold residential property within your pension fund. You may also be able to sell and buy these properties between individuals.

•Contributions - The amount you can currently contribute into a pension scheme is capped but A-Day is set to change all this. As of April this year, there will be no maximum amount of pension saving.

Who will be affected by these pension changes?

Actually nearly everybody who will work or has worked will be affected by these pension simplification rules. It will impact on any individual who already has a pension in place or any individual who will start a pension plan at any point in the future.

Where is the best place to get pension advice regarding A-Day?

It is always highly advisable to discuss any pension advice you may require with a professionally trained financial adviser. It is also worth noting that you should always check that any financial adviser you speak to is registered with the FSA and is thereby duty bound to offer you unbiased advice.

Elizabeth Grant writes exclusively for The Mortgage Broker specialist websites. To read more of Elizabeth’s articles on Adverse Credit Mortgages please visit the Pension Transfers website.

Time / Diagonal Spreads - Buyer Risk / Reward

Like most trades, time spreads have a maximum loss for the
buyer. As a buyer, you can only lose what you have spent. If you
paid $1.00 for the spread then your maximum potential loss is
that $1.00. If you bought the spread for $2.00, then $2.00 is
the maximum potential loss.

The buyer of a time spread will be purchasing the out-month
option while selling the nearer month option of the same strike
in a one-to-one ratio. Since the out-month option will have more
time until expiration than the nearer month option, the
out-month option will cost more. This means the buyer will be
putting out money (debit spread) which makes sense. The buyer
can only lose the amount of money they spent to purchase the
spread. Thus the buyer’s maximum risk is the cost of the spread.

The buyer can profit in several ways. First and foremost, being
a time spread, the buyer can profit by the passage of time.
Options are wasting assets. So as the nearer month option decays
away more quickly than the outer-month option, the spread widens
(increases in value) and the buyer sees a profit.

Second, implied volatility can increase. As implied volatility
increases, the out-month option, which the buyer is long,
increases in value more quickly (due to its higher vega) than
the nearer month option which the buyer is short. This will
force the spread to widen or increase in value, which again is
profitable for the buyer.

Third, the buyer can make money due to stock price movement. As
stated before, a time spread’s value is at its maximum when the
stock price and the spreads strike price are identical
(at-the-money). You could have an increase in value if you owned
an out-of-the-money or in-the-money time spread, and the stock
moved either up or down toward your strike. As the stock moves
closer to your strike, the spread will expand and increase in
value creating a profit for you, the buyer.

The buyer’s risks are obviously the opposite of the rewards. You
can not stop or reverse time so the buyer of the spread can
never be hurt by time.

Implied volatility, however, can decrease as easily as it can
increase. A decrease in implied volatility will decrease the
value of the out-month option (which the buyer is long) faster
than it will decrease the value of the nearer month option
(which the buyer is short) due to the higher vega of the
out-month option. This will narrow the spread thereby creating a
loss for the buyer.

In the same way that stock movement in the right direction can
be profitable for the buyer of a time spread, stock movement in
the wrong direction can be costly. As the stock moves away from
the spread’s strike, the spread decreases in value. That will
create a loss for the buyer of the spread.