If you want to drive here, don’t worry about the parking space. Remember, the facility is ‘leftover’ from Sydney Olympic 2000, so the parking space is olympic size as well. Furthermore, once you validate the ticket, you have free 4 hours parking – not bad….

Should you take public transport, probably train will be the most convenient. Just heading to ‘Aquatic Center’ after arrive at Olympic Park Station.

Aquatic Center Entrance

The main area

The Slide

Lap Pool and Spa

The entry ticket itself is really affordable. $6.6 for adult, $5.2 for children. Under 4 year is free and there is ‘spectator’ ticket for merely $3.20. Also family ticket for 2 adult+3 children (or 1 adult + 4 children) is price only $20.50. So, that’s it: full half day with your family at only around $20…  Already includes parking! Cannot complain at all…

There are 4 big pools inside: the olympic size pool for serious swimmer, another big lap pool, a stream pool and big children pool with all the goodies: water spray, fountain, all of them. There is also a big slide and spa as additional facility.The quality of the water is superb: sparkling clean without smell of chlorine that make your eyes red.

Just this summer, they also just add a great feature for children to play around water, they call it “Water Playground” (see below)

The Water Playground

I guess the “Water Playground” is the real magnet for kids. Its main attraction is the big bucket on top of the roof that can be filled in full at around 10 minutes and spill all the water down. Just similar the one in Jamberoo. The splashing quite spectacular if you are near, so people just queue 2-3 minutes before the spill over to get more fun.

For the hungry tummy, 2 cafe/takeaway shop with ‘usual’ food such as fish and chip, nugget, coffee, soft drink, cake and the like are waiting for you on each floor. But don’t expect too much, they are just ’standard’ tummy filler.  Oh, there is also outdoor area with plenty of seating and table or you can do a bit of picnic as well.

For your cloaking, there are 2 kinds of lockers. The untimed $2 locker (but can only be unlocked once, unless you insert another $2) or $3 per 3 hour locker. Make sure you read the instruction first to select the correct one. Otherwise just put your stuffs on the pool side. There are too many pool attendant hovering around to discourage the naughty hand – but you never know…

All and all, everything was good and in order. The only problem is that my laptop has running out of battery power and the kid and the mommy still want to play around. I guess it’s time for a cup of cappuccino for me….

Written by Denis Kristanda from pool side near the spa at Sydney Olympic Park’s Aquatic Center via broadband mobile.

Monday, 8 Dec, I got the weirdest margin call I’ve ever know: my broker call ans ask me to deposit some money to cover the margin for my option position. Well, fair enough… but which one? The one needed margin cover is the Covered Call¹ Option position. The problem is that I have covered that position with the stock that being optioned itself.

Background

I have covered call position on OZL (OZ Mineral Ltd) for December 2008 expiry date. As we know, on 1 Dec 2008, OZL have requested to suspend the trade of their security pending some refinancing issue. The suspension is expected to last up to end of December.

Then because of the suspension, both stock and option trading stop and basically all OZL security activity is being frozen on the market. And ACH then decide to declare the OZL security is illegible as  collateral/margin. Have a look at the excerpt of ACH and ASX Market Notice #22308 below ²:

…ACH may from time to time require the removal of collateral securities lodged with ACH where these securities are subject to a corporate action or event. This is done in accordance with standard procedures which apply when any corporate action or event has collateral implications for ACH.

On 1 December 2008, OZ Minerals Limited (OZL) announced that the Company will be
suspended from quotation prior to the commencement of trading on Tuesday, 2 December
2008.

ACH and ASX Participants are advised that all OZL shares lodged as collateral with ACH
must be removed before or by the close of business, Wednesday, 3 December 2008. Any
collateral held after that date will be removed by ACH.

The Real Problem

The removal of collateral securities lodged with ACH is routine item and is needed to ensure the margining system is working smoothly. For example, people doing “Naked Put” for BHP securities can lodge OZL securities as the collateral instead of cash. Since OZL securities is non-liquid, it’s a reasonable and required decision to remove OZL securities as collateral and demand other collateral such cash or other security. I understand this fully and support it. BUT NOT FOR COVERED CALL !

People who buy the call option have the right to buy the security at strike price. So the collateral on covered call is just to make sure that the writer of the option have enough money to buy the securities from the market and sell it cheaper (hence making a loss) to the option holder that will exercise the option.

Now, having already the stock itself for collateral (Providing OZL securities for OZL call option collateral) is actually the most secure and reliable way to ensure smooth transfer in case of exercise. Once the option exercised, the ACH just need to transfer the security to the new owner. Nothing else to be done.

Asking cash collateral for call option is actually more risky. Imagine if the stock price shoot up 100%, then ACH will need to demand 100% of the amount. Then, what is the real reason to reject OZL securities as collateral of OZL call option ? Let see what is the possibility:

• If the OZL securities shoot up above the strike price of the option, ACH just need to hand out the stock to the option holder who exercise the option. That’s it.
• If the OZL securities goes down below the strike price of the option, no one will exercise the option anyway, so nothing to be done.

So, the real problem is ACH reject the securities that being optioned as collateral and asking cash margin which is more risky and totally unnecessary if you have the stock itself as the collateral.

Does Mr Eddie Farah who authorized the removal of all OZL securities, know about this basic fundamental of how option works? If he knows, why he still remove the collateral for the covered call? Does ACH know what they are really doing ? Anybody could lighten me up, please ?

The Effect

The obvious effect for option writer is of course unnecessary margin call. People who hold about $50,000 worth of OZL securities have to lodge more than $15,000 cash collateral.

But the real damage for wider audience is losing confidence. Does ACH knows what they are doing? If the official clearing house of ASX does not know the real effect of their action, who does ? Or is this careless decision is just because of negligence of certain person only ?

What should happen?

The solution of this problem is just simple additional 1 line of English sentence of the notification. The market notification/decision should read:

….

ACH and ASX Participants are advised that all OZL shares lodged as collateral with ACH,  except those lodged as collateral for OZL call option, must be removed before or by the close of business, Wednesday, 3 December 2008. Any collateral held after that date will be removed by ACH.

See… easy and everybody is happy ! Nobody can complain or whinge about this matter anymore, even me.

Is that easy enough or I am asking too much ?

If you are one of those affected, or market participant that tired being played by ACH or anybody else that care about the credibility and the correctness of stock market, please kindly have your thought heard via the comment box below. Thank you.

p.s: I have tried call the ACH and email them, but as expected, no one wants to talk to small retail investor like me. It seems the broker also does not seems interested to stand up for their customer. Hence this post!

Wednesday, 19 Nov 2008 – Dow Jones closed 5 years low after tumbling 417 points to 7997. This 5% drop – as expected – followed by the rest of the world including Australia. Thursday, 20 Nov 2008 – ASX down 127 points to 3515, a level not seen since 2004

The next day, the Dow make another dramatic fall just in the last hour of trading to close 11 years low after shedding another 445 points to 7552.

And again as expected, the index of the world follow suit. ASX is down as low as another 132 points to 3201 – a 5 years low. Another bad day in the market ? Wait a minute, look up the chart !

Yes, ASX has beaten Dow Jones ! Just after 1 o’clock – as if every trader and investor in Australia have a magic lunch and back to trade with new attitude – the index just climb and climb without a breather and finish in positive territory with plus 79 point. Total swing of the day is 211 points or around 6.5% ! I repeat, despite Dow Jones fall more than 400 points, ASX is up 79 points ! This is very very very rare occasion Once, ASX pull this bounce, the rest of Asian and European market follow suit and refuse to follow the Dow !!

So what’s really happened ? I search and search what the occasion locally, regionally and globally – nothing happened at that particular time – no news , no announcement, no nothing. Is it really the magic lunch ? We better send everybody to the same restaurant every day then…. After I open my historical chart, I found the very answer: THE POWER OF TECHNICAL ANALYSIS. Believe what you see below…..

First , around 2000-2002, we can see very clearly that there is a resistance around 3200 point marks. After failing to get trough that resistance, the market heading down until 2003 when it start the long bull journey to all time high in 2007. This significant resistance obviously become strong support during the retracement. What a simple technical analysis !

Secondly, if you draw a fibonacci retracement from 1987 – Yes, it was the Black Monday in Oct 1987 the biggest stock market crash to date – to all time high in 2007, we can see approximately that 3200 level is on 61.8% retracement. As you know 61.8 is the strongest level of all fibonacci number.

Coincident ? You may say so. But this is exactly what technical analysis is all about. People try to search the reason to buy. This time Technical Analysis with simple support/resistance and fib level give people exactly that. And if a lot of trader / investor (I mean really a lot) apply the same analysis above, then it become self fulfilling prophecy – that’s the power of technical analysis.

If you only understand just a part of what I write above, feel free to go to “Share Trading By Me“, a fast growing website, where all stock market related aspects are explained in plain English for the very beginner to advance trader/investor. “Have a look !

In the mean time, happy trading and don’t forget buy your protection to avoid capital loss ! I’ll pop my champagne and celebrate this Australian trader achievement…..
‘Til the next article !
– The Smiling Investor