The World In A Week - Shining A Bright Light on Rishi Sunak
Written by Chris Ayton.
In a volatile week of trading, The MSCI All Country World Index fell -0.4% but the FTSE All Share Index recovered +1.6%. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index also made some positive ground and was +1.7% in GBP Hedged terms.
UK news last week was dominated by the news of the election of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister just seven weeks after the ill-fated ascension of Liz Truss. Markets reacted with relief to Sunak’s appointment and the retention of Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor, with long term gilts now having fully recovered the extensive losses triggered by the package of unfunded tax cuts announced by Truss’s regime. The pound also climbed back to $1.16, although this was partially due to broader weakness in the US Dollar. The more UK domestic focused FTSE 250 mid-cap index also reacted well to what they consider an economically safer pair of hands, rising +4.2% over the week. Nevertheless, Sunak and his new team have their work cut out to address what they themselves refer to as a “profound economic crisis”.
In the US, Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc, reported an unexpected downturn in its core advertising business. Microsoft followed with a warning of a slowdown in its cloud computing business, a division previously thought to be economically insensitive. Then Meta, the parent of Facebook, reported another quarter of declining revenues and Amazon followed suit, also warning that an economic slowdown was starting to bite. Despite these individual setbacks, a strong finish to the week still saw the NASDAQ 100 index up +2.1% in local currency terms although, due to the recovery in the pound, this translated to -1.6% in Sterling terms.
In China, President Xi Jinping tightened his grip on power at the Chinese Communist party’s 20th national congress, securing a third term and likely beyond. He also successfully surrounded himself with loyal allies prompting fears of less checks and balances, a continued shift from market-friendly policies to ones promoting common prosperity and security, no change to Xi’s economically damaging zero Covid policy and potentially more unfriendly geopolitical rhetoric. Investors were also unimpressed with the subsequent delayed announcement of 3.9% GDP growth which fell well short of China’s full year target of 5.5%. MSCI China fell an astonishing -12.3% over the week in GBP terms.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 31st October 2022.
© 2022 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - An Absence of Truss
Written by Cormac Nevin.
Last week provided some welcome relief for UK investors, as the MSCI All Country World Index rose +4.1% in GBP terms (up +3.3% in local currency terms). This was driven primarily by US tech stocks, with the NASDAQ 100 Index up +6.6% (in GBP terms).
The shifting sands of the UK political landscape have been difficult to keep up with, and this past weekend and this morning have been no exception. Following the resignation last week of the UK’s shortest serving Prime Minister, it was announced on Sunday that Boris Johnson had withdrawn from the race to be Liz Truss’s successor. This leaves the field wide open for Rishi Sunak, who appears to be the market’s favourite candidate as the news caused gilt yields to drop sharply and Sterling to rally.
Other political developments driving markets last week and this morning included the continuation of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Increasingly hostile verbiage from Xi Jinping towards the country’s wealthy and the tech sector, more generally, caused Asian markets to sell off heavily. The delayed release of the country’s slowing gross domestic product figures also caused the Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong listed equities to fall over 5% on Monday.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 24th October 2022.
© 2022 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
Energy rescue package: how does it work?
The Government has announced a wide-ranging and costly energy bills rescue package, called the Energy Price Guarantee, to protect households from the worst of price rises this winter.
Energy bills were set to rise by about 80% in October, having already soared in previous updates to the price cap by energy regulator Ofgem.
Instead, the Government has moved to limit that increase.
How will my bills change?
Energy bills will still likely rise for households, but the worst effects have been dampened by the rescue package.
For a typical household, the annual bill for energy will come in at around £2,500 from 1st October. This is however not a hard limit on energy costs.
The way the cap works is as a limit on the price you pay per kilowatt hour (kWh) of gas and electricity. If you continue to use a lot of kWh to heat and power your home, your bills can still come in higher than the £2,500 ‘cap.’
With the way the cap is structured, there is still an incentive for households to conserve the amount of energy they use as this will still reflect in their monthly bills.
If you’re keen on cutting your usage and therefore bills, it’s really important to submit regular meter readings to your provider and speak to them if you believe your direct debits or other payments are set too high.
The guaranteed level was initially set to last for two years. But thanks to market disruption caused by Government spending plans, the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt rolled the scheme back to just six months. Hunt has committed to review and update the scheme from April 2023, but it is unclear how the scheme will change at that point.
In terms of how much it will cost the Government, little concrete information is known as it is completely reliant on the market price of energy in the next six months.
Estimates range from £60 billion to around £120 billion, depending on what happens to the price of natural gas. Once the Energy Price Guarantee expires, bills are expected to rise again to around £4,347 per year.
Other help
There is still other help being made available to households through measures previously announced by former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
This comes in the form of an energy bill discount which will be paid to households from October. This is worth £400 and will be paid monthly over winter automatically to bill payers. There is no need to apply as it will be directly applied and is a universal payment.
The Government is also providing cost-of-living payments to households on means tested benefits, which includes Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Tax Credits. Those households will receive a £650 payment this year, made in two instalments.
Those on disability benefits will also receive a payment of £150, but if you’re eligible for this, it likely already arrived in September.
Older people can also claim the Winter Fuel Payment – which will pay between £250 and £600 depending on your circumstances. Those who receive State Pension or other social security benefits (not including Adult Disability Payment from the Scottish Government, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit) will receive the help automatically.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 20th October 2022.
What does the falling pound mean for my money?
The pound has fallen considerably in recent weeks and months. But what does that mean for your finances?
Perhaps the most well-reported fall was the sudden plunge on 26 September, which was largely a response by financial markets to the ‘mini budget’ from new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Financial markets, in a signal of lacking confidence in Kwarteng’s plans, sold the pound to its lowest ever level – worth $1.03 in dollar terms. It has however rallied somewhat now.
However, there is a longer-term trend at play with the weakness of the pound.
In the past 12 months the pound has declined from a value of around $1.35 to its current level ($1.13 at the time of writing) – representing a 16% decline.
This is mainly down to major global macroeconomic trends affecting the value of the US dollar. Around the world as equities, bonds and other assets struggle, investors look increasingly to just holding dollars.
The main reason these investors look to hold dollars is that the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is seen at the front of hiking interest rates and reducing the amount of dollars flowing around the global economy through ‘quantitative tightening.’
Thanks to this trend, the pound is among nearly all other major currencies in losing value to the dollar.
But while these are complex trends affecting the whole world, there are some specific effects on our own finances in the UK. Here are the major impacts.
Inflation
One of the least easily-noticed, but biggest issues for a weaker pound is that it will cause more inflation – despite the Bank of England hiking rates to quell rising prices.
This is because the UK economy is highly dependent on imports to supply households with the everyday goods they need.
When the pound falls in value against other currencies, especially dollars for which many major global commodities such as oil are priced, it reduces the nation’s purchasing power.
This makes these products more expensive for us to consume. Although in practice it is difficult to immediately notice the effect, in the long term it will keep the overall level of inflation higher than it otherwise would have been.
Travel
Perhaps the opposite of the above effect – a weaker pound means it is more expensive for people to travel abroad.
When visiting other countries, travellers and holidaymakers will find buying anything they might spend on more expensive as their pounds don’t go as far as before.
This will have varying effects depending on where they go. Europe might not be as much as a stretch thanks to the Euro falling, but a trip to DisneyWorld in Florida might quickly become prohibitively expensive for some.
There are some quick and easy ways to mitigate the worst of foreign exchange rates for holidaymakers though. The most important is to avoid exchanging physical currency at Forex shops, or even at places such as the Post Office. These companies routinely offer foreign currency at extremely high markups compared to the basic Forex conversion rate.
The best solution to this is generally to use new digital-only banks such as Monzo, Starling and Revolut, who offer much better exchange rates and fees for spending abroad and cash withdrawals than old-fashioned High Street banks do.
Investments
A weakening pound also affects investments – but the consideration here can be more complex.
Holders of UK companies that earn in the UK might find that their stocks are worth less as a result of the stock being priced in pounds.
But many major UK firms actually derive much of their incomes from abroad. With a weaker pound this is a good thing for those companies as they will be able to import more valuable foreign incomes. It also makes UK goods sold abroad more competitive to buy, boosting that income for those firms.
Buying companies or other assets denominated in dollars will become more expensive. But the relative value of those assets for those already holding will be a bonus as their sterling value appreciates relative to dollar values.
The effect of pound weakness for investments is complex though and there’s no unifying theme, as individual wealth structures will be impacted differently.
If you would like to discuss any of the themes in this article, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 20th October 2022.
Mini-budget 2022: market and political turmoil cause major Government reversals
Extraordinary events in the UK throughout September and October have seen the Government announce a ‘mini-budget’ – the contents of which have now largely been scrapped.
Prime Minister Liz Truss, and her first Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, announced a series of tax-cutting measures on 23 September.
The Chancellor in his statement said the changes, which were far from mini in reality, were designed to kick-start the economy and provide ‘supply side’ reforms to help businesses grow and let households keep more of their money.
Kwarteng’s announcements were far ranging and were described as one of the most dramatic shifts in policy from the Government since the infamous 1972 Budget from then Chancellor Anthony Barber.
But markets, the media and politicians reacted extremely poorly to the measures which were posing potentially hundreds of billions of unfunded changes to Government policy.
Despite political opposition to the measures, what really killed the mini-budget was the reaction by the bond market – which ultimately would have been asked to fund the measures through new Government debt issuance.
Where are we now?
Liz Truss was forced to sack her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on 14 October. This is because the Bank of England had implemented a special program to support the bond market and protect certain pension funds from running out of cash.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey set a deadline for the scheme of 14 October. This forced Liz Truss’s hand and triggered a series of reversals which initially saw the Government ditch plans to scrap the 45p income tax band, then reverse plans to hold corporation tax at 19% instead of a planned rise to 25%.
Once Truss sacked her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, Jeremy Hunt – a former leadership candidate and health secretary – was brought in as the new Chancellor to steady the ship of Government.
On 17 October, Chancellor Hunt announced the effective scrapping of all the measures set out in the mini-budget. The only surviving measures were the reversal of the National Insurance hike and the stamp duty cut – as both those measures had already been enacted (more on those below).
But the planned cut in the basic rate of income tax to 19% has been binned. When he was Chancellor, Rishi Sunak promised this change in 2024, but Hunt, keen to reassure markets and return confidence to the Government’s economic policies, has scrapped the tax cut completely.
As for other measures, the alcohol duty cut will no longer go ahead, IR35 freelance tax reforms will take place instead of being scrapped, and the Energy Price Guarantee will no longer run for two years (more on that here).
The retreat and reversal of policies has left major questions over Liz Truss’s leadership. Jeremy Hunt was compelled to go further than simply cancelling the changes because the Government had caused a major confidence loss in markets that effectively were on the hook to pay for the measures.
This comes against a backdrop of tough and volatile market conditions, monetary policy tightening and ongoing high inflation. Together, this makes the mini-budget’s measures extremely unpalatable to investors, even if these measures were designed to promote growth and help households in the UK.
A couple of measures have survived however, and these are detailed below.
National Insurance and dividends
The 1.25% hike in National Insurance payments has been fully scrapped, and this will take effect from 6 November. According to the Government, the average worker can expect to save £330 in NI payments in 2023/24.
Dividend tax will be affected by the cut to National Insurance, effectively taking the rate back to where it was before it was hiked in the first place.
Dividend tax rates will be reduced to 7.5% for basic rate payers, 32.5% for higher rate payers and 38.1% for additional rate payers. All of this will take effect from 6 April 2023.
Stamp Duty
Kwasi Kwarteng also made significant changes to the way in which stamp duty works.
No one will pay stamp duty on a property worth less than £250,000 while the first-time buyer (FTB) threshold has risen from £300,000 to £425,000. The maximum level of FTB relief will also raise from £500,000 to £625,000.
These changes were made effective immediately from 23 September.
If you would like to discuss any of the themes raised in this article, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 20th October 2022.
Working for longer? Key rules to consider
The number of over 65s has reached a record level, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The number of over 65s now in work stands at 1.468 million in April to June 2022, up 173,000 from the previous quarter (January to March 2022).
As the cost-of-living rises, and markets turn volatile, more older people are returning to work in order to fund their everyday lives.
But there is also a longer-term trend at play – the number of over 65s in work has risen steadily since 2014 as per the ONS figures.
But what are the pitfalls of working past ‘retirement’ age? The truth is that the line between working age and retiring is definitely blurring, but there are still some important aspects to consider if you’ve decided to keep working for longer.
Here are some key considerations with regards to wealth and tax.
Money Purchase Annual Allowance
The Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) is a key consideration if you choose to work later in life, and have access to your pension (i.e., over the age of 56).
When you contribute to your pension during your working career, you’re allowed to save up to £40,000 a year into your retirement pots, or 100% of your annual income if below this level.
However, once you reach pension freedom age, currently 55, and you access pension funds, the MPAA kicks in.
The MPAA is currently £4,000. This means once you’ve drawn down funds from a pension, you are only allowed to contribute back in a maximum of £4,000. This includes personal, workplace and employer contributions.
If you are around pension freedoms age, continuing to work and don’t necessarily need your pension cash, it can be wise to leave it untouched to prevent the MPAA kicking in. This will allow you to continue accruing valuable employer contributions and tax relief on your pension savings.
If the MPAA has kicked in, it could be more tax efficient to save into an ISA instead. This will give you an annual tax-free savings limit of £24,000 (£4,000 for pension and £20,000 for ISA).
State pension deferral
Once you reach State Pension age you will be entitled to claim the valuable benefit, assuming you have accrued enough National Insurance Contributions (NICs) in your working life.
The age at which you can take State Pension used to be 65 for men and 60 for women. This has however now been equalised between genders and is in the process of rising to 68. You can find when you become eligible by using the Government website.
If you are eligible but have yet to take your pension, or are soon to be eligible – it can be a very good option to defer receipt of the benefit, if you can live without it.
This is because the longer you defer your payments, the higher your future pay outs will be. The State Pension increases by the equivalent of 1% for every nine weeks of deferral. This means for every year you don’t claim, you’ll get around 5.8% more when you do begin to claim.
For instance, if you’re eligible for the full weekly amount of £185.15, deferring it by 12 months will mean an extra £10.70 a week if you begin claiming one year after reaching full entitlement. Over a year, that adds up to an extra £128.40.
These figures are however purely an example – in practice the State Pension is uprated using the triple lock calculation each year so deferral will most likely lead to higher extra payments in future.
No National Insurance
Once you do reach State Pension age, you will no longer be liable to pay National Insurance (NI) contributions.
Any money you earn won’t be liable to NI contributions, which will mean ultimately, you’ll get more money in your pay packet at the end of the month. Pension income, likewise, doesn’t have any NI liabilities. You are however still obliged to pay income tax on any earnings – be they salary or State Pension income.
If you’d like to discuss any of the rules or tax implications for your wealth, don’t hesitate to get in touch to talk about your options.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 20th October 2022.
The World In A Week - All change please
Written by Millan Chauhan.
Last week was an eventful week in UK Politics, as Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a role which he held for only 38 days. This also came three weeks after he announced his mini-budget which caused Sterling to sell-off significantly, sent the cost of government borrowing and mortgage rates up, that led to an unprecedented intervention by the Bank of England. Jeremy Hunt has been selected as his replacement and will now make a medium-term fiscal announcement on the 31st October, if not sooner. The chaos that has unfolded over the last few weeks has put immense pressure on Liz Truss’s battle for political survival.
There were some important economic data releases last week in the UK, with GDP unexpectedly falling by -0.3% in August which was caused by a fall in the production sector. This latest data release also meant that the economy shrank by -0.3% in the three months to August. On Wednesday, we will find out the state of the UK’s inflation situation with September’s CPI data set to be released with expectations leaning towards a monthly increase of 0.4% (estimated 10.0% Year-on-Year).
US markets saw a huge intraday movement last Thursday, following the US inflation data release which saw US CPI come in at 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. This was slightly above estimates of 8.1% which sparked a very negative reaction from US markets at the open. Expectations were that we would begin to see inflation flatten as supply chains have improved and the labour market situation has recovered. US indices subsequently rebounded that day to close in the green as the underlying constituent data showed some signs of a slowdown. Time will tell whether we are at a juncture of a change in sentiment.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 17th October 2022.
Inheritance Preservation Seminar
We recently held an ‘Inheritance Preservation Seminar’ hosted by our Independent Financial Adviser, Simon Brannigan.
The event was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bristol South – Cadbury House on Wednesday, 5th October 2022.
The seminar was aimed at people over 60 who wanted to ensure their families kept as much of their wealth as possible to flow down the generations.
Simon talked to a packed and attentive audience and covered tax planning, Inflationary pressures, care fees and legacy planning.
Simon’s next seminar will be in Bath on 15th November.
Please contact us for more details.
News
The World In A Week - We Get It, And We Have Listened
Written by Chris Ayton.
Last week brought some welcome relief to equity and fixed income markets. The MSCI All Country World Index rose +2.0% and the FTSE All Share Index recovered +1.4%. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index was -0.3% in GBP Hedged terms.
UK news last week was dominated by the UK government’s decision to reverse its planned axing of the 45p income tax rate just days after having announced it. “We get it and we have listened” Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng sheepishly announced on Twitter. In a further attempt to calm currency and fixed income markets, Kwarteng was also forced to announce he would be bringing forward the disclosure of his debt reduction plan from 23rd November to the end of this month. Sterling and UK Treasuries recovered some lost ground, aided by the Bank of England’s promise of intervention through buying up long dated gilts.
In the US, bad news was initially good news as weak manufacturing data increased hope of slower additional interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve. However, the week ended with news that the US unemployment rate had dropped back to its pre-pandemic low of 3.5% which pointed to a tighter labour market and dampened any enthusiasm that the Fed may choose to take things slower. Nevertheless, the 1.8% rally in the S&P 500 Index comes after three consecutive quarters of declines for the S&P 500 Index, the first time this has been observed since 2008.
Eyes now turn to the Chinese Communist party’s 20th national congress, which opens on 16th October. President Xi Jinping is widely expected to win an unprecedented third term, but the focus will also be on how China plans to deal with the harsh economic challenges caused by their zero Covid policy as well as a rapidly slowing property market.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 10th October 2022.
© 2022 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - It’s all about the rates
Written by Chris Ayton.
Although down in local currency terms, the MSCI All Country World Index rose +1.3% in GBP over the week and the FTSE All Share Index was up +3.8%. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index was down -0.8% in GBP Hedged terms.
In the UK, in a further attempt to dampen inflation, the Bank of England increased interest rates by 0.75% to 3%, the largest monthly rise since 1989. However, while bringing modest relief to homeowners, it also indicated that rates may rise less than the market expected going forward as the UK has already entered a recession. In other positive news, UK construction activity grew more than anticipated and UK new car registrations surged 26% from a year earlier, with hybrid and electric vehicles driving the rise.
In the US, the S&P 500 Index finished the week down -3.3% in local currency terms but further Dollar strength reduced the loss to -0.7% for GBP investors. The Federal Reserve also increased interest rates by 0.75%, its fourth monthly increase in a row. However, unlike in the UK, the Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that US interest rates are likely to peak at a higher level than expected as inflationary pressures were proving sticky, although he did note the pace of those rises to reach that peak may slow. This week’s inflation print will be closely watched.
Continental European equities enjoyed a strong week, with MSCI Europe ex-UK up +3.7% in Sterling terms. Producer Price Inflation in the Euro Area eased a little, but the reading did nothing to ease concerns around inflationary pressures across Europe, at a time of a weakening economic outlook and continued conflict in Ukraine. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said she still does not expect a recession in the Eurozone economy but that, even if there was, it would not be enough to stop them raising rates further to quash inflation.
In Asia, Chinese shares rebounded sharply as there were rumours of an imminent relaxation of China’s strict COVID-19 restrictions. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that he was not aware of any such news, but this did not stop these unfounded rumours pushing the MSCI China Index up +14.1% over the week in Sterling terms.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 7th November 2022.
© 2022 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.