Carl's dashboard

Carl replied on April 20, 2009 11:11 to the question "Margin Required" in Intrade:

The maximum profit figure is the amount of profit you will receive should your position expire (settle) at a winning price.

We use "binary" markets which always settle at 0 or 100. If you buy into a position and it expires at 100 then you will receive your maximum profit. If you trade out of your position before the market is expired you may still receive profit, but it will be less than the maximum.

Carl replied on April 19, 2009 15:15 to the question "Margin Required" in Intrade:

Margin is the funds required to cover the potential losses you may incur when you make trades.

When you make a trade the maximum amount you can lose is frozen in your account as margin. If you don't have enough funds to cover your postential loss then you will not be able to make the trade.

If you trade turns out to be a winner then the margin that is frozen is released back to your account. If you trade is a loser then the margin frozen to cover the trade is debited from your account balance as an actual loss.

Carl asked a question in Intrade on January 23, 2009 11:17:

Explanation of Peak Values

The peak value is the value that GDP will be compared against to calculate the percentage change in GDP each quarter. If GDP has declined by the amount specified in the contract (either -10.0%, -15.0% or -10.0%) from this peak value then the contract will expire at 100.

The current peak value is Q3 2008. The GDP figure for that quarter was $14,412.8 billion.

If any quarterly GDP figure is greater than the current peak value then a new peak value will be established. GDP will then need to decline by the specified amount from this new peak value for the contract to expire at 100.

For example...

The current peak value is Q3 of 2008. The GDP figure for that quarter was $14,412.8 billion. If GDP declines by more than 10.0% from this peak value then the -10% contract will expire at 100.

Lets say that for Q2 of 2009 the GDP figure is $15,025.7 billion. This is greater than the current peak value of $14,415.8 and therefore becomes the new peak value. GDP will now need to decline by 10.0% or more from this new peak value for the -10.0% contract to expire at 100.

Carl asked a question in Intrade on January 23, 2009 11:02:

How will the percentage change in GDP will be calculated?

We will be using the following formula to calculate the percentage change in GDP:

((Quarterly GDP Figure / Current Peak Value) -1) * 100

Here is a hypothetical example for explanatory purposes only:

The current peak value is Q3 2008. The GDP figure for that quarter was $14,412.8 billion.

Lets say that the Q1 2009 GDP figure is $14,027.5 billion.

The formula will therefore be: ((14,027.5 / 14,412.8) -1) * 100.

The outcome of this calculation is -2.7, which means that GDP has declined by 2.7%. This is not enough of a decline for any contracts to be expired.

Here is a second example:

The current peak value is Q3 2008. The GDP figure for that quarter was $14,412.8 billion.

Lets say that the Q1 2009 GDP figure is $12,475.6 billion.

The formula will therefore be: ((12,475.6 / 14,412.8) -1) * 100

The outcome of this calculation is -13.4. This means that GDP has declined by 13.4%, which is enough for the -10.0% contract to be expired.

Carl replied on January 04, 2009 16:07 to the problem "run mac 10-- cannot trade" in Intrade:

Please contact our helpdek at help@intrade.com for assistance with this problem.

Carl replied on December 30, 2008 15:51 to the problem "I still have not received interest on my account balance." in Intrade:

If you would like to please email help@intrade.com with your full name and account username or password we will investigate this for you.

A comment on the question "Are then any fees for making a withdrawal?" in Intrade:

There has been a change in the fees charged for members requesting withdrawals from their accounts.

For a bank wire there is a $20.00 fee charged by the exchange. All fees charged by the sending bank, the receiving bank and any intermediary bank the wire may be routed through are payable by the receiver.

The cost of issuing a withdrawal check is payable by the receiver (i.e the exchange member requesting the withdrawal) and will be deducted from the withdrawal amount requested. This will be done by the issuing bank and not by the Exchange. Details of the cost of issuing the check will be attached to the check itself when it is received. The cost is typically $5.00 to $6.00.

For your first check withdrawal per calendar month you will incur only the cost of issuing the check. Any further check withdrawals in the same calendar month will incur a $10.00 admin fee from the Exchange, in addition to the cost of issuing the check. – Carl, on December 24, 2008 10:07

Carl replied on December 15, 2008 12:25 to the question "Why isn't intrade closing the Scty of Treasury Contracts?" in Intrade:

Hello there, and thanks for your questions. There is a provision in the contract rules published on the site that states:

Any appointment that requires Senate confirmation must receive that confirmation for the contract to expire at 100. If an appointment is not confirmed by the Senate then the contract will expire at 0.

Once the Senate has confirmed the appointment then the market will be expired.

Carl replied on November 02, 2008 10:38 to the question "What happens if all the conditions of a bet do not occur?" in Intrade:

No. Those who bought the contract will lose, but those who sold the contract (and held a "short" position) will win.

Carl replied on November 01, 2008 14:25 to the question "What happens if all the conditions of a bet do not occur?" in Intrade:

If a Democrat wins then this contract will be expired at 0.

Carl replied on October 24, 2008 10:59 to the idea "what does intrade need to do to get more popular?" in Intrade:

Thanks for your post, we appreciate your feedback. This has been noted and passed to the right people for consideration.

We would welcome anymore ideas or suggestions that you think would help us offer a better service, so please everyone get posting!

Carl replied on October 24, 2008 10:58 to the idea "Why is intrade so small when it actually IS great??" in Intrade:

Thanks for your comments.

We realise that the funding of accounts is one of our biggest problems. There is no "silver bullet" solution however, particularly given the attitude of the US government and the restrictions they place on US banks in regards to credit cards. We are more than happy to accept credit card deposits from the US, but if the banks refuse to authorise the transactions, which is usually the case, then all we can do is recommend another form of depositing funds.

Unfortunately there is no way we would be able to open an use an account with a US bank. Under the UIGEA act passed in 2006 no bank would be preared to do this.

Members do not actually have their own segregated accounts. All member funds are held in a collective account with National Irish Bank. This account is legally separate from the companies operating accounts however to keep the funds safe.

Carl replied on October 23, 2008 08:24 to the question "Depositing large $$$ without having to figure out "wire transfering"..." in Intrade:

Unfortunately not. We do not have EFT facilities available. To send a large deposit the quickest and safest option is to send a bank wire.

This should be a fairly painless exercise, just take our account information (which is found on the My Account page of the site) down to your local bank, or give them a call, and they will be able to initiate a transfer without too much trouble.

Your other alternative is to send a check, but there is a ten business day clearance period enforced so your funds will not be available immediately.

Carl replied on October 20, 2008 13:14 to the question "transfer funds from Intrade to Tradesports?" in Intrade:

I know of no intermediary that performs this function I'm sorry.

Carl replied on October 01, 2008 21:10 to the question "Obama V McCain Featured Chart" in Intrade:

It is someplace else Jonathan. It can be found here:

http://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/mi...

Apologies for the confusion.

Carl replied on October 01, 2008 21:08 to the question "What if the candidate dies?" in Intrade:

The contract rules published on the site for our presidential market state the following:

In the event of the death of one of the candidates the following steps will be taken:

1. All contracts in the group will be paused and expired at the last closing price set for each contract
2. A new market will be listed for the remaining candidates

I hope this answeres your question.

Carl replied on October 01, 2008 08:12 to the question "transfer funds from Intrade to Tradesports?" in Intrade:

We have no relationship with Matchbook and cannot accept any transfers from a Matchbook account to your Intrade account.

Carl replied on September 26, 2008 13:31 to the problem "how it works page does not work" in Intrade:

This has now been corrected. Unfortunately we published that broken link in error.

Thanks for pointing that out to us.

Carl replied on September 05, 2008 15:48 to the discussion "Legality of Trading" in Intrade:

Hi ColesLaw. Thanks for posting up a reply.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to comment on the legal situation in other countries. We operate legally from the Republic of Ireland, where both internet gambling and perdiction markets are permitted. I will seek further comment on this and post again afterwards.

Intrade has been active in the creation of the Prediction Market Industry Association. Details of this organisation, it's members and agenda can be found here: http://www.pmindustry.org/.

Carl replied on August 22, 2008 17:18 to the question "transfer funds from Intrade to Tradesports?" in Intrade:

We do not process transfers from Intrade accounts to Tradesports accounts.

We do accept transfers coming in from Tradesports accounts to Intrade accounts however.