Doranga.com

Are you searching the market attempting to pin point the best foreign currency exchange rates? The world of the internet is a great way to have a thorough and comprehensive look at what is on offer & purchase the choicest option. Though, it’s clearly not exclusively about looking around the market the lowest exchange rate - fees, commission and transfer charges will often all unfortunately make a tempting rate abruptly pitiful value.

In this period of worldwide financial trouble you need to associate with a respectable company that you can trust - to not only purchase you the choicest rate possible at the sad time but also to provide you with assistance and good advice. Foreign Currency Direct has been recognised in such reputable news-papers as The Sunday sad time and The Observer as a well thought of business with whom to do business with when you are buying foreign currency. So, you know you will be working with a professional, honest and appreciably thought of firm. Foreign Currency Direct can help you seek out the best foreign currency exchange rates.

Trading in foreign currency might well be a hard type of business - the rates consistently fluctuate, so, if you don’t appreciate access to the most current info & capable knowledge you might often wind up forfeiting a notable amount of your investment. Foreign Currency Direct are experts when it comes to dealing with currency exchange rates - in operation ever since 2000 they have gone from strength to strength.

Foreign Currency Directs rates are calculated on live, constantly updated interbank’ prices (the price at which one particular institution sells to the other) which are constantly given in real time, meaning that they are more competitive than those offered by far less specialised financial institutions and building societies.

The first thing you have to do is set up an account with Foreign Currency Direct & you 4 commence trading currency - you may receive exchange rate quotes by telephone, if you take the offer you will receive an email, fax or postal conformation of the contract.

Children grow up fast which means it is essential to look at saving when they’re young. By saving from just £10 to £25 a month with Scottish Friendly’s Child Bond without delay you could give them assistance that will help them when they are older. For example helping to pay for university fees or to find the money for a residence.

You can invest in a tax-free savings plan for any child with a Scottish Friendly Child Bond. It’s tax-free because it’s a friendly society savings plan, so under present-day financial legislation it grows free of income or capital gains tax. It certainly is a superb way for parents, grandparents, family members and friends to make a big financial difference when the childen are older.

In essence the Child Bond is a with-profits investment plan: It invests for long-term growth as well as a certain element of security, in stocks and shares, fixed interest funds and cash.

The invested amount accumulates through the addition of potential annual bonuses and at the relevant time when the bond reaches maturity there’s a tax-free payout. The value of bonuses depends on how much profit we make and how the distribution is made.
Please note that bonuses are not guaranteed.

The Child Bond can run for a minimum of ten years, but it is possible to invest for longer if you decide to - perhaps to coincide with an 18th or 21st birthday. You can save either monthly, annually or with a lump sum payment.It’s totally up to you. It should be noted that if the plan is cashed in at a point prior to the end of the term, the amount the child will receive may be less than the amount paid in.

If you have a preference for the monthly option, you can start saving from as little as £10 a month - up to a maximum of £25 a month. Or you can make yearly payments of up to £270 a year.

You can also remit all of the premiums in one go through our lump sum funding plan. If you invest the maximum permitted figure of £2,340 for a decade, this actually invests £270 a year into the Child Bond - making twenty seven hundred pounds in total. The minimum lump sum of £1,040 provides £120 a year for 10 years - a total of £1,200. This provides a means for you to settle all your premiums at a stroke and is something that is popular with grandparents who like the reassurance of knowing all premiums for the entire term of the plan are taken care of.

Life cover is also included with this plan, so you should consider if this is fitting for your financial needs.

Cyprus as an investment is good news these days for capital appreciation. Since joining the European Union in May 2004 the island has opened up to investors and seen prices go up by 30% with high demand for apartments in the Southern part of the island. There is a company to help people to invest in Cyprus using either a UK SIPPS with assistance from the UK government. Advice is required from a financial advisor before this route is used. Use the services of a professional organisation like Living Cyprus.com find them at http://www.living-cyprus.com for free advice and property for sale in Cyprus. Take a look and enjoy.
Andrew Walters is an acknowledged expert on pensions and in particular can provide advice on the suitability of using a Self Invested Personal Pension Plan (SIPP) to fund the purchase of a property in Cyprus.This is an area that we have had a lot of interest in, but reliable advice and information is hard to come by and so a talk with Andrew is definitely to be recommended, if this is something that you have heard about and would like to find out more.

For starters, if this is a type of transaction that you have not heard of or had not previously considered, here is a brief guide provided to us by Andrew on this topic.

We would like to stress that in providing this information, we are not providing an opinion on this funding option nor should this guide be considered as an alternative to independent financial advice which may be sought in the UK via Andrew at EYFS Ltd or any other authorised firm in the UK.

SIPPS - another funding option for you?

As I write this in November 2005, we are in one ‘regime’ with the expectation of a new regime beginning in April 2006. This article is written from the current perspective but makes reference, where relevant, to the new ‘regime’ which will be effective from April 2006.

This article is based upon my understanding of current and proposed legislation. It is not exhaustive nor should it be assumed that any particular funding option is going to be suitable for you based only on the reading of this article. No liability is accepted for any actual or consequential loss arising from the use of this article as the basis of making a financial commitment without also seeking independent financial advice as an individual.

What is a SIPP?

A SIPP is a Personal Pension Plan with a self investment option. Which means that in addition to the usual choice of insurance company funds you may be offered via your personal pension plan you may also invest in a wide range of assets of your own choosing such as : individual shares or probably of more interest in this context - property.

Who can have one?

To some degree anyone who has pension monies in the UK, albeit if future funding is a requirement the definition changes to anyone who is eligible to take out a personal pension in the UK - which is just about everybody who is resident in the UK!

What is often overlooked is that two or more individuals can, in the right circumstances ‘team up’ to use their SIPP plans to buy a property or other asset together.

This does of course have implications, but could in the right circumstances increase your funding potential and enable you to spread the inherent investment risk across a number of people.

Why haven’t I heard about them before?

SIPPs have been around for more than ten years but have traditionally been the province of ’serious’ investors or advisers managing large funds on a discretionary basis.

They have previously had limited appeal to smaller investors as the additional charges can tend to dilute any potential gains for smaller investors provided by the increased investment horizon. This is not to conclude that they are terribly expensive - just that the charging structure is more complex. It’s a horse with a course!

The reason that most people will not have come across them is that whilst previously, property purchase has always been possible via a SIPP, it has always been limited to commercial property within strict guidelines (and in the UK) - a property with any aspect of residentiality was specifically excluded.

Another tricky limitation was the exclusion of any purchases from yourself, anyone in your family or a ‘connected 3rd party’ - this was always a bind because most of the best investment opportunities that arose in my experience fell into this category!

The Government intends, according to its indications, to lift these significant barriers from April 2006 and from then on residential properties for occupation or let in the UK or abroad will be potential investments for a SIPP and the rules on purchases from connected persons is to be relaxed - hence the considerable interest!

How do they work?

Usually a SIPP is established on a deferred basis as an ‘add on’ to a personal pension plan - that is the personal pension plan is established with a view to self investment in the near or more distant future - and as such starts out like any other personal pension plan.

[Stakeholder pensions have not embraced SIPP functions and so if your pension fund is currently in one of these plans and you wish to self invest, a transfer may be necessary. This should not be contemplated without taking independent financial advice.]

Self investment via a SIPP is made through a trustee (usually an employee of the insurance company or a scheme administrator).

In brief, you complete a form detailing the proposed investment and the trustee has to approve it. Normally, when buying authorised unit trusts, investment trusts or securities this just amounts to a rubber stamping procedure.

However, when something more ‘individual’ is proposed - like a property - the trustee needs to satisfy himself that the proposed investment is allowable (within Inland Revenue rules) is permissible (within the scheme rules) and is suitable (satisfies the basic needs of an investment). In practice, this is usually quite straightforward since it only makes sense to propose investments that work at all of these levels.

Once the trustee is satisfied then the investment/purchase may proceed subject to all of the usual hurdles such as a valuation, conveyance of legal title, stamp duty etc.

If a scheme is already established, then a property transaction through a SIPP should not take significantly longer to complete. Where there is no SIPP established or the transaction is reliant on funds being transferred in from other schemes it is likely that the transaction may be significantly protracted and you would be well advised not to promise your vendor any completion dates that are too optimistic.

If the purchase is being made completely from existing funds the trustee will ensure that payment is made under your guidance. If the scheme needs to borrow money to fund part of the purchase - which it may do - then the trustee will need to apply for funds, this can usually be from a lender of your choosing. The point to note is that it is the SIPP that is borrowing the money and not you - so the transaction must satisfy the lenders criteria in its own right.

SIPPs can currently borrow up to 3 times the scheme assets. For example, if the scheme has £100 000 in assets it may borrow (subject to approval) potentially another £300 000, which means that you could go shopping with £400 000!

Unfortunately, under current rules you cannot buy residential property and by April 2006 (when you can) the scheme borrowing facility is to be capped at a more realistic 50% of scheme assets. In the same scenario as above this would reduce your shopping capacity to £150 000.

Once completed the property becomes a scheme asset administered by the trustee. It is very important that you understand the implication of this. The property is not yours - it belongs to the scheme. It can be sold but the proceeds return to the scheme for re-investment. You cannot sell the property and personally pocket any of the proceeds.

With all significant financial commitments you are well advised to take independent financial advice prior to commitment funds and this is definitely the case with this type of transaction.

Advantages…

In the UK, these schemes are fantastically tax efficient.

Tax relief on new contributions to eligible investors at at least the basic rate and at their highest UK rate of tax if this 40%.

Virtually tax free growth on investments whilst within the scheme.

No capital gains tax upon disposal of assets and rents on leases / lets are paid into the plan tax free.

Any interest on scheme borrowings will usually be relieved too.

Normally no inheritance tax is payable on scheme assets either

But, perhaps the biggest advantage is that it introduces a source of funds - your existing pension plans - to potentially enable you to buy your property (from April 2006) which have not previously been available to you.

What’s more, new substantially increased contribution limits mean that money can be accumulated faster in schemes than at present.

…and Disadvantages?

The property is not your asset - it cannot therefore be considered as collateral for any other borrowings, nor can you sell it and ‘pocket’ the proceeds.

Future capital gains and rental income will be potentially taxable in Cyprus (but not the UK) exposure will vary depending on how you choose to hold the property and the figures involved. IHT doesn’t exist in Cyprus though fortunately. It is not therefore likely to be the most tax efficient investment that you could hold in a UK pension - but still could be worthwhile.

Your choice of property may prove to be a poor investment as a result of any of the following: low capital growth or even a slump in property values, Poor rental income

If you stay in the property or reside in the property you will be expected to pay the going rate - but at least you are paying it back to your own pension!

At some point, unless any property subsequently becomes a relatively insignificant part of your pension fund, you will have to sell the property to derive an income - as this is, it should be remembered, the primary purpose of any pension plan! It may not, therefore, be advisable that you purchase a property late in life that you intend to live in until your death via a SIPP.

How do I find out More?
Any IFA in the UK should know what a SIPP is, but few will know the intricacies of the plan and in particular how it can be suitably harnessed for the potential purchase of a property abroad. Using my links in Cyprus, I am making it my business to put together robust and reliable means to make this possible via developers and lawyers and so I believe that I may be well worthy of consideration for assisting you with this type of transaction back in the UK.

www.cypruspropertydreams.com
www.living-cyprus.com

by Richard W. Wise

Who doesn’t love a diamond? Known as the traditional gemstone for an engagement ring, diamonds have steadily risen in popularity since the early 1940s, when Harry Openheimer the president of the De Beers cartel visited New York to meet with Gerold M. Lauck the president of N.W. Ayer, a leading advertising agency.

The value of diamond sales had declined 50% by the end of World War I and Openheimer was determined to do something about it, Lauck’s suggestion; manufacture a tradition. So successful was the campaign that in 1967 De Beers hired J. Walter Thompson to create a similar “tradition” in Japan, a country with absolutely no history of diamond giving. As a result, today over 90% of all Japanese women receive a diamond engagement ring.

Although everyone loves a diamond, few people know how to wisely choose one when standing at the jewelry counter. Here are five tips on how to buy your perfect diamond:

1. Diamonds are graded using the 4 Cs. Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat weight but they are not of equal importance.

2. Cut is the first C. Very well cut round diamonds are called ideals. Diamonds are cut for weight. They have no color and no nutrititional value. Diamond is all about sparkle. Fine cutting delivers the sparkle.

3. Never buy a clarity grade above VS2. Diamonds are graded using a 10x magnifier. A diamond graded Flawless and one graded SI1 (slightly included) are visually identical. The first and last time you will use magnification is the day you buy the stone.

4. Diamond color is based on tonal variations of the color yellow on a scale of D-Z. There is no A, B, or C. The more yellow the lower the grade. The first four colors D-G show no yellow when viewed face-up. Want to save money? Think about a G.

5. Look for moderate blue flourescence. About 1/3 of all diamond flouresce blue in ultraviolet light. While we can’t see unltraviolet we can see its affects. Blue is the complement of yellow. Thus, blue flourescene will cancel out yellow and make the diamond appear whiter and more beautiful as well. A flourescent H may look like a D.

Invest News

Elections, interest rates… Interested? Oh, I try not to be cynical and jaded, I really do. It’s a tough job. And every month I try to think of something new to write in a newsletter to you. After all, it is supposed to be a “news” letter, isn’t it? But as the World’s Wisest King once said, “Generations come and go, but nothing really changes…History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” (King Solomon, in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1)

Kill the King!
Back in ancient times, they had more interesting elections than what we do now… If the people became sick of the tyrannical ruler, they usually stormed the castle with pitchforks, killed him and made some new bloke into the king. It makes a polling booth seem quite boring.

Every few years, Australians elect another leader; either the same bloke, or the same party, or a similar politician from another party. Our friends the Americans do the same thing, with a two-party vote very three to four years. What changes?

The interest rates will probably be raised by 0.25% in Australia, and by 0.25% or 0.50% in the USA. Housing markets will drop slightly as rates rise and the share-market will rise, on news of tax cuts. No ruler will be impaled on a pitchfork, and life will return to normality. Yawn. What’s news, really?

Newspapers will show polls rising by 3 points, or new election promises that are phrased differently to the last promises that were given by politicians in the last 20 years, or 2000 years. Newspapers will tell you that someone got killed, gold prices went down two cents and company shares went up by two cents. Some celebrity couple split up and there is a new gadget that you simply must buy.

Newspapers do this every day, because they want you to buy a new paper every day. Truth is, celebrities have been splitting up since well before Elizabeth Taylor-Fortensky-Hughes-Burton-Wilding-Hilton-Todd-Fisher-Warner made it fashionable. Politicians have been making promises since the first He-Man promised to protect the villagers from the invaders. All the villagers had to do, was to give him weapons, an army, build him a castle, and give him several wives and 10% of all they produced for the rest of their lives…

Nothing ever changes, much… Prices of goods, including dwellings, foods, companies, precious metals and widgets will continue to rise and fall with supply and demand and the vagaries of the economy. It was like this when we had the horse and cart, was the same through the Industrial Revolution, and is the same in our new-fangled “internet e-economy”. Nothing is new under the sun.

Why are you still reading? Are you learning anything yet? Nothing is new: what is there to learn? Boring “news”, predictability, death and taxes, prices go up. Watch the slow growth of prices Should we be concerned that gold is down 2 cents? No. It will go back up, and at some stage it will be worth double what it is now, and eventually, it will double again.
Anyone with a few grey hairs has probably seen the value of their first house double over time, and maybe seen it double and double again. Good shares will do the same thing over time.

Does the upcoming interest rate rise mean that we should all sell our houses? Not unless you want to. Do the tax-cut promises of the US and Australian elections mean that the economy will boom and we should all buy shares? Not unless you want to. Should we ignore the daily news and concentrate on annual trends? Absolutely!

Take a look at the last ten years, and what has happened to the cost of living.

Tobacco products are up 115% since 1994 (time to quit?)
Average insurance premiums have increased 104% since 1994.
Cost of lamb and mutton is up 83% over 1994 levels
Price of eggs, up 71% in ten years
Cost of education up 69% in ten years
Price of vegetables up 62% since 1994.
And how much did the average wage rise by in the last decade?
Since 1994, the average wage has increased by just 55%…

Interesting, isn’t it?
Even the last twelve months has seen the cost of Health Care rise 7%, the cost of childcare rise by 13% and petrol also up 12%. A bag of tomatoes rose in price by 13%, and oranges increased by a whopping 300%.
That was in the last year…How much did your wage go up in the last year?

What have you learned so far?
In researching all this, I learned that some things do, in fact, change… But they change in predictable patterns. When you understand the patterns, you either say “Uhuh” in acceptance (as King Solomon did) or you scream. Understanding that the cost of fruit and vegetables and meat has gone up by more than the average wage increase, may make you say “hmmm”. It may prompt you to find a better job, or may make you want to overthrow the government with a pitchfork. My advice, predictably unchanged, is “INVEST”.
I have seen the price of properties double in less than five years, I have seen the price of shares double in less than five years, and I have seen clients who became wealthier through their investments than they did through their jobs.

Invest into something good, long-term, stable and predictable. Invest into something that actually pays you a real income each year, not just something that promises it will double in value.

Good dividend paying blue-chip shares will always rise in a slow and steady boring way; the same way that a good rental property will increase in value over time (hopefully by more than the price of eggs ).

Tortoises and Hares Do not get drawn into tax-schemes, buying unfinished (and un-rented) properties “off the plan” or buying shares in companies that make big promises without delivering actual earnings. Play it safe. Yes, it’s boring watching your investment rise by just 7% each year. But 7% every year compounded means that you will double your money every ten years. If food only goes up by 60% or 80%, you will still be able to feed yourself.

More Timeless Wisdom from Solomon: “There is another serious problem I have seen in the world. Riches are sometimes hoarded to the harm of the saver, or they are put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. (Eccles 5:13-14, NLT)

“Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows… Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren…” (Proverbs 13:11 & 22a, NLT)

“Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, and enjoy their work–whatever they do under the sun–for however long God lets them live. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life–that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy. (Eccles 5: 18-20, NLT)

Tips: How could I say it better than the man of the month? “Eat well, drink a good glass of wine and enjoy whatever you do for as long as you live”. Just get good advice from your doctor and your Financial Planner, so that you can afford to live long and prosper.
Invest.
Jeremy

This article and its attachments are not intended to constitute any form of financial advice or recommendation in relation to securities. We recommend that you seek your own independent legal or financial advice before proceeding with any investment decision.

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It’s Friday June 9, 2006, and yesterday was a wild day, the Dow dropped over 177 points at one point and was down for most of the day and the money started flowing in at about 2:50pm EST giving a small boost to the Dow and it finally closed up a pinch, just over 7 points.. The bottom line here is that you have to begin looking at stocks on an individual basis and don’t continue to look at the S&P, the Dow or the Nasdaq Composite as a gauge because it will not guide you through this rollercoaster ride.

This is why we feature individual stocks and give our outlook based on the company and the industry. If the stock is not a slave to the Dow but gets dragged down in the process you should be all over it because that is an opportunity.

This market will continue to go up and down and sideways until there is some clarity in regards to an interest rate hike. This is not just a problem for U.S. markets but worldwide and if anyone tells you any different they are not doing you a service. Interest rates around the globe were raised yesterday as inflation worries loom.

We received plenty of emails from our listeners and readers asking for direction, asking us whether they should buy, sell or hold a particular issue. We do not feature each and every email or question because when you ask for our direction we do our homework so that we are giving you our best outlook on the stock, and not doing it on the fly because that could cause more harm than good.

Yesterday we had more new subscribers to “Wall Street to Main Street” than ever, and that just shows you that investors are looking for guidance, and we’re trying hard to do that for you. Investment advisers, stockbrokers, and even several investment clubs added themselves to the list of subscribers yesterday, so we have to be doing something right.

Now that we established where we stand lets move forward and try to cherry pick those stocks that have been oversold by not only institutions but by investors.

Movers and Shakers

Some major movers in yesterdays trading session include Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK), which traded up $1.56 to close at $23.16, now we are talking about a company that has negative earnings to the tune of $1.20a a share. It is bouncing off of its 52 week low of $20.89, so in other words this is a dead cat bouncing. Even with they added a quicker checkout process on their site by implementing AuctionCheckout.com’s online payment service, this still won’t bring it back to life. Companies that actually earn money were driven down on Thursday and there was no real reason why this puppy made upward movement, it’s an anomaly I guess.

Allegheny Technology (NYSE: ATI) traded up $3.50 to close on $62.75, now it wasn’t as simple as the stock just moving up, it went down with the rest of the market, traded as low as $54 78 before the buying starting flowing back into the stock. When you see a stock like Allegheny Tech traded down that low and that fast you have to find out why, nothing fundamentally changed with the company. Actually Leo Larkin an Analyst with Standard & Poor’s Equity Research recently upgraded the stock from a Sell to a Hold., he actually forecasted 2006 earnings of $4.40 for the company, they posted an EPS of $3.60 for 2005, so S&P sees growth. These are the type of companies that you have to seek out, those that are oversold for no good reason. The demand for Stainless Steel will continue to grow in aerospace and power generation, so they may live up to Larkin’s expectations.

Fluor Corp (NYSE: FLR) traded up $3.24 to close at $88.58, the global engineering, procurement, construction, operations, maintenance and project management service provided dropped over $3 on Wednesday, traded as low as $82.93 on Thursday and powered up to close up over $3.24 for the day. The stock was trading over $100 a share this past May and was hammered down, this is one that could creep back up to the $95

Autozone (NYSE: AZO) traded up $2.48 to close at $93.00, this came on the heels of the former President, Vice Chairman and Director of Borders (NYSE: BGP) George R. Mrkonic, Jr joined the board of directors of Autozone. So that is the reason for the movement, this all came to light on Wednesday after the close. Now Autozone is about $10 off its 52 week high and sits with an EPS of $7.30 and a P/E of 12. With Mrkonic giving his input at Autozone you’ll see this one back in the triple digits.

Other stocks that made moves on the upside include Allergan Inc (NYSEL AGN) which traded up $3.79 to close at $102.27, Giant Industries (NYSE: GI) traded up $3.19 to close at $62.70, Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) traded up $2.39 to close at $67.53, Occidental Pertroleum (NYSE: OXY) traded up $22.6 to close at $96.98 on its way back to $100, Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up $2.19 o close at $60.76, this is a stock that should be in the $70 range, Comtech Telecommunications (NASDAQ: CMTL) traded up $1.80 to close at $32.88, Whirlpool Corp (NYSE: WHR) traded up $1.76 to close at $84.50 as they company is looking to trim some fat and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) traded up $1.62 to close at $72.62.

Under Ten

Now lets take a look at movers in the market under ten bucks, Globix Corp (AMEX: GEX) a blast from the past, I remember when this stock was in the $50 range, but that was a long time ago and on a different exchange, but the stock traded up 55 cents to close at $4.80, Nitromed (NASDAQ: NTMD) traded up 35 cents on nice volume to close at $4.99, Cortex Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: COR) traded up 35 cents to close at $3.32, Alliance One International (NYSE: AOI) traded up 27 cents to close at $4.47, Isolagen (AMEX: ILE) traded up 22 cents to close at $2.85 on close to 2 million shares traded and Generex Biotechnology (NASDAQ: GNBT) which traded up 14 cents to close at $1.85.

Downers

Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) slipped down $1.59 to close at $53.88, the company is involved in the higher education for adults business, they operate through their subsidiaries The University of Phoenix, Inc, Western International University, Inc., Institute for Professional Development and The College for Financial Planning, Inc. There was no news yesterday on the company so maybe it was just driven down by market conditions, but just because there was no news on Thursday does not mean that something will not surface today. There has been a changing of the guards at the company, take that into account with a potential slowdown in enrollments and you are in the dark waters. The stock is close to its 52 week low of $47.27 but seems to have support in the high $51 to low $52 range. Lets see how it shapes up today.

Focus Media Holdings (NASDAQ: FMCN) dropped down again on Thursday and its just about getting to a good entry point. The bottom here should be in the $48 to $50 range but that doesn’t mean that it will hit that point, if it does then we’ll sit on the sidelines because it could slip into the high $30 range. The stock traded down $8.07 to close at $51.56 and there were a few factors involved, first it hit a ceiling for the third time in a row as we mentioned at $68 and second they filed to sell 1,000,000 American Depository Shares or ADS’s. So here’s the game plan, you need to see if the stock is actually going to bottom yet, and it looks like it just might. Market conditions may just push it down into the $50-$51 range so you have to pick your entry point.

Matria Healthcare (NASDAQ: MTRA) was knocked down even before the bell range and that was for a few reasons, of course the obvious Market Conditions and the main reasons was that they lowered their full year forecast from $1.35-$1.50 to $1.10-$1.17. Now they did this because they anticipated a delay in various contracts that they have on tap. But the street was looking for $1.10 for the full year anyway so they should be in line with that number. I think that this is just overdone and you had money whipping out from a few institutions and that started a domino effect as small investors started to bail. This looks like an opportunity because the bleeding should be pretty much over and the street will realize that if not today very shortly. So take a look at the charts, fundamentals and the press releases and you’ll get the picture. It closed at $22.12 down $5.24.

I just want to touch on Peru Copper (AMEX: CUP) quickly, we received a ton of emails and calls in regards to the company because it halted trading on Wednesday with no follow up. We spoke about it on Thursday and the bottom line is that speculators thought that Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU) was going to buy Peru Copper but that seemed to be far fetched, even though PCU made public statements in regards to it a week or so ago. So that could be a dead deal but do not sleep on Peru Copper because they did hint that there are other potential suitors that have showed an interest in their Toromocho project. The stock pulled back a bit but that was the speculators jumping ship once they were done bottom fishers started picking up the scraps, keep in tune with Peru Copper as it just may shock you in a good way in the coming months.

Know lets talk about a real smack down and a half, Joseph A. Bank (NASDAQ: JOSB), we alerted “Wall Street to Main Street” subscribers about this one before bell as the company missed the mark by a long margin as they announce earnings of 32 cents a share but the street expected 46 cents a share. Investors woke up to a nightmare with this one, and its probably not over yet. The stock closed down $10.73 to close at $26.40 making a new 52-week low.

InfoSonics (AMEX: IFO) has been getting beaten up this week, especially after it received a nice downgrade from a Buy to a Hold by Kaufman Brothers They will be splitting 2 for 1 shortly and right now the stock is about 10 points off of its recent 52-week high. We’re sticking by this one as we still see it trading in the $20 post split. Now it may not happen immediately but it should settle in there once the street realizes the company’s true value. It powered up from a low of $21.10 on Thursday to close at $23.60.

Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) dropped another $9.37 to close at $161.00, this has been a daily occurrence with the stock so you may be seeing lots of profit taking from those investors and institutions that own the stock below the $100 mark, and who could blame them with the run that this one made in a 12 month time frame.

Other stocks that traded down but shouldn’t be down there include China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) which traded down $4.67 to close at $58.69, Expeditors International (NASDAQ: EXPD) traded down $3.88 to close at $94.59, Parlux Fragrances (NASDAQ: PARL) traded down $3.25 to close at $20.85, UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) traded down $2.93 to close at $107.50, Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) traded down $2.87 to close at $101.49, Kookmin Bank (NYSE: KB) traded down $2.80 to close at $74.70, Wesco International (NYSE: WCC) traded down $2.72 to close at $60.68 and PetroChina Co (NYSE: PTR) which traded down $2.59 to close at $99.41.

Now some stocks under ten bucks that received the royal smack down on Thursday include Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) which traded down $1.11 to close at $3.36 down about 25%, Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE) traded down 40 cents to close at $4.40, U.S. Energy Corp (NASDAQ: USEG) traded down 35 cents to close at $4.10, Advanced Semiconductor (NYSE: ASX) traded down 33 cents to close at $4.56 and Triquint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT) which traded down 30 cents to close at $4.68.

Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Recent Analyst upgrades include International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF) was upgraded to an Above Average from an Average by Caris & Company, Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) was upgraded to an In-Line from an Underperform by Goldman Sachs, Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) was upgraded to an Overweight from an Equal Weight by Lehman Brothers, CNET Networks (NASDAQ: CNET) was upgraded to a Buy by Stifel Nicolaus, and SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC) was upgraded to an Outperform from a Peer Perform by Bear Stearns.

Recent Analyst downgrades include Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by Sanders, Morris & Harris, Medical Action Industries (NASDAQ: MDCI) was downgraded to a Neutral from a Buy by Sidoti & Co, Boardwalk Pipeline (NYSE: BWP) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by AG Edwards, Parlux Fragrances (NASDAQ: PARL) was downgraded to a Hold from a Strong Buy by Wedbush Morgan and Cyberonics (NASDAQ: CYBX) was downgraded to a Neutral from a Buy by Suntrust, Robinson, Humphrey.

Recent analyst coverage initiations include TLC Vision Corp (NASDAQ: TLCV) was initiated with a Market Perform rating by JMP Securities, Labopharm (NASDAQ: DDSS) was initiated with a Buy rating by Banc of America Securities, Viisage Technology (NASDAQ: VISG) was initiated with an Outperform by Raymond James, Novatel Wireless (NASDQ: NVTL) was initiated with a Sector Performer rating by CIBC World Markets, and Lexmark International Group (NYSE: LXK) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating and a $58 price target by Lehman Brothers.

FURIOUS FIVE

The latest addition to our “Furious Five” companies that we see excelling in their industry in 2006 is IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI).

For our outlook, and other vital information on the companies that we feature as the “FURIOUS FIVE” on Wall Street to Main Street just subscribe for FREE at www.namcnewswire.com

IAC/InterActiveCorp trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol IACI.

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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Louis Victor
NAMC Newswire
888-463-9237

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