Money Pit Stop: We are high risk investors who want to retire at 50 on �50,000 a year - can we make it?

In our series Money Pit Stop, we ask an investing expert to give our readers a free portfolio makeover.

Merchant seamen Fiona and Greig, both aged 35, want to retire at 50 but have reached a crossroads on how best to invest their retirement savings.

Between them the Glasgow couple currently have a combined pension investment pot of �240,000 plus their own mortgaged home and a buy-to-let, and hope to be able to retire with a �50,000 joint income in just 15 years' time.

To do that they plan to pursue their high-risk Asian growth-focused investing strategy and take advantage of one of their pension schemes being an international plan, which lets them access funds at 50 rather than 55 - the earliest age UK savers can usually tap pensions without getting hit with a massive tax penalty.

But this more flexible scheme has just undergone a revamp, throwing them out of the Asia fund they used to invest in and offering a different small choice of funds.

They want to know whether they should stick with this limited range of investment funds for the sake of getting early access to their money, or move it to a Sipp where they could pick other funds they feel have more growth potential.

Should they decide to transfer out, they would like to know what kind of pension investment portfolio might best achieve their goals, given they have a high risk appetite and want to retire in 15 years' time on around �50,000 a year.

They are also considering selling the buy-to-let, which has �80,000 worth of equity, and investing the money in Isas, which they plan to make more use of with their regular saving.

Are their early retirement dreams achievable? We ask a financial planner.

Travel firm charges couple a �35 premium for an airline window seat... without a window

Britain's biggest travel firm TUI is reviewing its airline seat booking policy after a passenger paid for a window seat that didn't have a window next to it.

John Heslam, 66, and his wife Annette, 61, from Foxton, Cambridgeshire, had booked a two-week Caribbean cruise in March last year, starting in Barbados.

They'd paid �70 to guarantee seats together on the nine-hour flight from Gatwick and the return trip � �35 each.

John had deliberately chosen a window seat for himself, as he enjoys the view during take-off and landing.

But when the couple boarded, they discovered they were seated in a row on the plane with no window, and so John was sat next to a blank wall.

It was the same on the way back.

When they got home, the couple complained and asked for a �70 refund to cover the cost of booking the seat, but TUI refused.

John, who used to work in sales, says: 'It's so easily avoidable. Just make a note on the seating plan that row 37 doesn't have a window.

Then I could have chosen a different one.' TUI has since agreed to refund the �70 seat booking fee.

Retired businessman John Eddom's nest egg was raided without him realising

A man who expected to retire with a pension pot worth �100,000 has been left with just �3,000 because his provider sold all his shares to cover unpaid fees � without his permission or knowledge.

Retired businessman John Eddom, 65, fears he will be left struggling in his old age after his nest egg was raided without him realising.

His pot was worth �50,000 when he stopped saving in 2000 and if his investments had been left alone he would be sitting on a fund worth more than �100,000 today.

But without his knowledge, his pension company sold all his shares in 2005, raising �17,000 to pay the annual fees for his plan. John only found out late last year.

Money Mail research found most pension plans contain hidden small print that lets investment firms raid your retirement nest egg for unpaid fees.

Major firms including Aviva, Prudential and Hargreaves Lansdown include clauses in savers' contracts that allow the company to sell your investments to claw back fees they are owed for managing funds.

These draconian terms are usually enacted only as a last resort.

But when they are used, the clauses can deprive savers of lucrative returns. And in the most extreme cases, the practice can empty entire savings pots.

Most at risk are workers who have stopped contributing to their pension or who have moved home without notifying their pension company.

In some cases, they may not realise their investments have been sold until it is too late.

John only discovered last year, just months away from retirement, that his pension firm Rowanmoor had sold his investments years earlier.

He had started saving into the plan in the early Eighties, when he was earning good money from his own haulage business, Eddom.

By 2000 his money was invested in shares such as Amazon, U.S. technology company Qualcomm and blue chips such as United Utilities.

Dow drops more than 400 points after Trump announces tariffs

The Dow dropped 420 points on Thursday after President Trump said his administration will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 declined 1.3% apiece.

Trump's controversial tariff announcement caught investors off guard and immediately raised concerns about retaliation from China or other major U.S. trading partners.
 "This is the first shot across the bow over a trade war," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR. "And nobody wins a trade war."

Trump said his administration would impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum. It was not immediately clear whether Trump would exempt some countries from the tariffs, as his national security advisers have urged him to do to avoid hurting U.S. allies.

Corporate America has warned Trump that tariffs could backfire. Last month, the Business Roundtable warned of the risk of "foreign retaliation" that would "harm the U.S. economy."

Investors will be looking to see how U.S. trading partners react to the tariffs.

Beyond worries about retaliation, the tariff news drove concerns about rising costs for companies that rely heavily on aluminum and steel, like auto and plane makers. Imports make up about a third of the steel American businesses use every year, and more than 90% of aluminum used here. Shares of Boeing (BA) fell 3% General Motors (GM) dipped 4%, and Ford (F) dropped 3%.

 If the tariffs result in higher prices on steel and aluminum, companies that rely on those products may pass on some of the costs to consumers. That raises the specter of creeping inflation.

"This clearly will [lead to] higher prices in the production chain, which is part of the inflation path," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The timing of the tariff news surprised Wall Street. A formal announcement was expected at some point Thursday, but then it was called off. Later, Trump mentioned his tariff plans in a hastily arranged listening session with steel and aluminum executives. And he didn't provide crucial details, such as whether certain countries will be exempted.

Concerns about trade come at an already shaky time on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Dow fell about 4% in February, their worst month in two years. Fears about inflation and soaring bond yields caused a surge in volatility, including two 1,000-point plunges for the Dow.

The market had come back as investors focused on the strong economy and booming corporate profits. But stocks fell sharply again on Tuesday and Wednesday, putting the Dow back in negative territory for the year.

Turbulence has picked up as well. The VIX (VIX) volatility index spiked 15% on Thursday. Selling pressure will climb as volatility increases, Krosby said.

At least two corners of the stock market cheered Trump's tariff announcement. U.S. Steel (X) and AK Steel (AKS)soared 6% and 10%, respectively.

Century Aluminum (CENX) also spiked 7%. Another major aluminum maker, Alcoa (AA), gained 1%.

Trump's tariff moves could force investors to confront another trade issue: NAFTA. Trump has repeatedly threatened to tear up this major trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Talks to renegotiate NAFTA, a major piece of the U.S. economy, have so far failed to produce a solution.

"It sets off the protectionist fears that had been lying dormant," said Hogan.

� CNN's Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.

Fed's Powell sees 'no evidence' the US economy is overheating

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sees no sign that US economy is building too much steam.

The job market is tight, but Powell isn't worried that wages are rising too quickly, which can lead to inflation. If anything, he's surprised wages haven't risen faster.

"There's no evidence that the US economy may be overheating," Powell said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. The newly minted Fed chair made his second appearance on Capitol Hill this week to deliver the central bank's twice-a-year report on the state of the US economy. 

 Wage gains have been slow in the years since the Great Recession, which is one reason it hasn't felt much like a recovery to many people. Wages finally picked up in January, growing at the fastest pace in nine years.

Related: Fed's Powell says he's confident 'good years' are ahead for U.S. economy

"I'll be honest, I would have thought you'd seen more wages increase by this point," Powell said during the hearing. "And I do think you'll begin to see wage increases coming."

Fed officials have been patiently waiting for paychecks to grow. The challenge ahead for policymakers will be to stay one step ahead of price pressures.

"The thing we don't want to have happen is to get behind the curve of inflation and have to raise rates quickly and cause a recession," Powell told lawmakers.

The Fed has been trying to nudge inflation higher without risking a recession. It remains below 2%, the level the Fed considers healthy for the economy. Fed officials anticipate inflation will get closer to their target this year.

For years, when unemployment was higher, the risk of inflation was low � and not much of a worry for the Fed. Now that unemployment is historically low, central bankers have to be more careful about keeping it in check.  

Historically, the Fed has done a poor job of braking fast enough without causing an economic downturn.
That's why, for now, Powell believes the right course is for the Fed to raise rates gradually to help extend the nine-year economic expansion. The US central bank has penciled in three rate hikes in 2018.
"My expectation is that will continue to be the appropriate path as long as the economy performs this way," Powell said.
The Fed chair boosted his economic outlook earlier this week during a House Financial Services Committee. The rosy forecast caused investors to raise the odds the Fed may go further and raise rates four times this year.
The Fed holds its next interest-rate policy setting meeting later this month.

How Third Party Auto Insurance Works And Why You Need It

Third party auto insurance simply means that if you crash/damage someone else�s car, the insurance company settles the bills, the insurance company pays the owner of the vehicle (Third party). If you injure someone with your vehicle, the insurance company also pays for the damages incurred by the third party .

For a third party auto insurance policy, the first party is you; the second party is the insurance company while the third party is everyone else. It covers you for claims made against you by other drivers after an accident.

If you are responsible for a crash, it is likely that you are going to pay for damages. Auto insurance policy covers all the claims made against you including injuries obtained by the third party.

However,  under this insurance policy you cannot claim for the car you are driving as the insurance policy doesn�t cover the car you are driving. The insurance policy only covers the car you hit.

If you choose a registered insurance company, you will be able to escape such dramatic and unplanned costs. For example, if you hit a pedestrian on the road, the insurance company will pay the bills.

Note that the money to pay for damages comes from premiums. If premiums hasn�t been paid to the insurance company, there won�t be any compensation in case of accidents.

However, it is worthy to note that claims you make on an auto insurance company maybe limited. Some insurance companies may only cover the loss up to a certain amount say N1000,000. This simply means that if a vehicle you damaged is worth N4000,000 the insurance company will only provide N1000,000. So it is important to find the limit to loss the auto insurance company you choose covers before subscribing.

If you try to cheat the insurance company, you maybe arrested, so it�s good to be honest always. Be honest, don�t try to rip them off or stage an accident and you will be paid.
List of Auto Insurance Companies in US

    American Automobile Association
    Auto-Owners Insurance
    Safe Auto Insurance Company
    State Auto Insurance Group
    Unitrin Direct Auto Insurance
    Workmen�s Auto Insurance Company

List of Auto Insurance companies in Nigeria

    Industrial & General Insurance plc
    Cornerstone Insurance plc
    Aiico Insurance Plc
    Adic Insurance Ltd
    Leadway Insurance
    Zenith Insurance
    Cheki

We are only explaining how auto insurance works and listing auto insurance company More Auto Insurance companies  coming soon. kindly share to your friends

Can you get an Insurance Quote if you don't have car yet?

My dad is helping me buy a new car. And he is up my a s s trying to get me to figure out how much insurance will cost. How am I supposed to get an insurance quote without a VIN though?