THEIR arrival is supposed to signal rich pickings for the tourist trade on the shores of the Forth.

Instead, cruise liners are being accused of costing businesses a fortune as coachloads of disembarking passengers hog parking spaces and bring traffic to a standstill.

Shopkeepers in South Queensferry say they are being left out of pocket when luxury ships such as the QE2 tie up offshore because nearly all the passengers immediately leave on trips to Edinburgh and St Andrews without spending any money in their town.

Now the community’s leaders fear cruise passengers may disrupt the annual Ferry Fair, as two liners are scheduled to arrive during the week-long festivities.

Tom Martin, chairman of Queensferry community council, said passengers from the liners were ferried ashore at Hawes Pier. Coaches line up in the main car park nearby, which is closed to other users.

Although the coaches depart in the morning and return in the afternoon, spaces are usually reserved for them during the day.

He said: “This has always been a problem, but the liners are coming more frequently now. They have large fleets of coaches lining up to take the passengers. Local businesses are feeling the effect.”

Moira Cunningham, who runs a bed and breakfast at Hawthorn House, on West Terrace, said: “There are liners coming in with about 30 coaches. The traffic comes to a standstill.

“Parking is a major problem in South Queensferry anyway. We’ve got so many nice places to visit here, but this is going to keep people away.

“I understand why they want liners to come in, but they need to address the problem.”

Hamish Gilchrist, who runs a sculpture gallery on Newhalls Road, said coachloads of tourists bypassed the town, rather than stopping at shops and cafes.

He said: “What they do is line the coaches up, and then they go into Edinburgh. We don’t gain any benefits from these passengers. They don’t spend any time in the town. We need another car park. We’ve lost a number of parking spaces with the new development on the promenade.”

Community councillor David Steel, who also helps run the fair, said: “When they first started coming, people in Queensferry felt there might be some benefits with all these extra visitors.

“Unfortunately, it really hasn’t proved to be the boost to trade that many people had hoped.

“The majority of people on these ships go off on coach trips into Edinburgh or St Andrews.

“We’ve found that there’s very little spin-off for Queensferry. They do cause quite a lot of disruption in terms of traffic.”

He said around eight cruise liners are scheduled to arrive this summer. Two are due between August 6 and 10, the week of the annual Ferry Fair.

The cruise liners have already booked the car park, although it is normally used by the fairground at this time.

He said they were trying to negotiate with the council, who run Hawes Pier, to find alternative parking for the coaches.

He said: “The fairground has been occupying the car park for many, many years. It’s just unfortunate that there’s liners visiting that coincide.”

Andrew Holmes, the council’s director of city development, said the authority tried to balance the needs of residents and cruise passengers. He said: “We only allow liners to use this car park a handful of times each year when their passengers are going on day trips. This is for safety reasons, as there is nowhere else for the coaches to safely park next to the pier.

“Only part of the car park is used by these coaches, and if shoppers cannot find a space during these times, on-street parking bays are available.”

Many of you responded to my previous column about how some “Millionaire Zone” investors are buying safe but high-yielding CDs during the credit crisis and many of those responses were questions Д and frankly, some misperceptions Д about how FDIC protection works for those deposits.

So I thought a 15-minute explanation of how deposit insurance works Д and the handy resources provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Д would be worthwhile.

As advertised, FDIC insurance covers time deposits Д at a chartered bank or savings institution Д in the amount of $100,000 per depositor, per institution.

So what if you’re lucky enough to have half a million or more, and you’d like to take advantage of yields exceeding 5% on some CDs, while sleeping at night knowing that your investments are safe? Turns out, you can, if you play the FDIC game to its fullest.

On the surface, it would appear that $100,000 coverage per depositor, per institution, is fairly limiting. But within that framework, there are ways to define “depositor” to fit your needs. “Playing the game” to cover amounts beyond the maximum thus means creating different kinds of “depositors” and spreading deposits across institutions.

Rules of the game

The rules of thumb about FDIC insurance coverage are fairly easy to grasp, but you should always check out your situation against the nuances and finer points. Each of the following is entitled to a separate and additional coverage:

Individual accounts

Every individual, as defined by FDIC rules, gets coverage. Deposit $100,000 in Bank A and you get one coverage. Simple. Your spouse deposits another $100,000 in the same bank, and he/she gets another $100,000. Footnote: using different names or setting up separate accounts won’t work. Also note that coverage is per institution. That rules out another branch of the same bank, or even its Internet-based arm. It must be a separately chartered company, although in some cases it can be within the same bank holding company. If in doubt, check for separate FDIC chartering.

Joint accounts

In a clearly titled joint account, each joint owner is entitled to $100,000 coverage. The accounts are assumed to be divided equally. So if you and your spouse open a joint account, in both names, in addition to your separate accounts, you get another $200,000 in coverage Д $100,000 for each of you. Now, we’re up to $400,000 in total coverage Д in just one institution. Trust accounts.

Next, an account set up and titled in a living or irrevocable trust gets coverage too. Beneficiaries must be qualified Д a named spouse or family member with clear beneficiary “payable on death” status written into the trust. So set up a living trust with your spouse as beneficiary for another $100,000 in coverage. We’re up to half a million. Self-directed IRAs. Separately titled self-directed IRA accounts are covered up to $250,000 each. (I overlooked this in my previous column.)

Play the game with one each of the above accounts, and you’ll fetch $750,000 in coverage Д at just one institution. Repeat the process elsewhere Д you get the idea.

If a bank fails

Some column responders expressed concern about how and when you’d be paid if your institution failed Д suggesting it could take years of red-tape entanglement.

From the FDIC Web site: “Federal law requires the FDIC to make payments of insured deposits ‘as soon as possible’ upon failure of an insured institution…[i]t is the FDIC’s goal to make deposit insurance payments within one business day of the failure of the insured institution.”

Enough said.

Introducing ‘EDIE’

I found the FDIC Web site particularly well organized and helpful. The FAQ page is great, with separate and more detailed sections tied to each form of ownership.

Also good is the EDIE Д Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator Д simulator. EDIE lets you check your current or proposed deposit “scheme” against the rules, telling clearly what is and isn’t covered.

OK Д maybe more than 15 minutes: but all worthwhile for peace of mind.

Copyright (c) 2007 MarketWatch, Inc.

Stock index futures rose on Friday after Nike () and Oracle () reported higher-than-expected financial results, but trading was likely to be volatile as equity derivative contracts expired.

S&P 500 futures were up 7.8 points, above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 65 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 11 points.

Shares of Nike Inc, the world’s largest athletic shoe and apparel maker, rose 4.3 percent in Europe after it posted stronger-than-expected quarterly net profit with help from a tax benefit and weak dollar.

Oracle Corp’s shares rose 0.9 percent in Europe after its earnings and revenue topped analysts’ estimates and Citigroup raised its price target on the world’s third-largest software maker to $25 from $24.

But volatility is expected to intensify due to the expiration of four different equity options and futures contracts, a quarterly event known as “quadruple witching.” The phenomenon can create sudden spikes and dips in the market and volume as some investors exercise their derivative positions or roll them forward at the last minute.

“It’s options expiration today, which means higher volatility and swelling volume. And we have some good corporate news,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

While the economic calendar is thin, the market is likely to keep a close eye on speeches by a number of Federal Reserve officials, he added.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as a weakened dollar and a surge in oil prices kindled fresh concerns about inflation, snuffing out a two-day rally that followed the Federal Reserve’s deep interest-rate cut.

And inflation fears are likely to continue to nag on Friday, as the dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro. Investors dumped the greenback after the Fed’s interest rate cut on Tuesday, which makes returns on the currency less rewarding.

While a weakening dollar can give a lift to shares of companies that are big exporters, it also threatens to make inflation worse because of the United States’ heavy reliance on imported goods.

But oil prices slipped a little, with U.S. crude for November delivery down 12 cents at $81.66 a barrel. (O/R)