---
title: "News calendar and yellow/red flags (beginner)"
url: "https://smpfund.com/help/news-and-flags"
language: "en"
---

# News calendar and yellow/red flags (beginner)

Restricted news windows follow the clock at the top of the panel, not your phone. Trading inside a news window is never a yellow or red flag: on Prime/Rapid only 40% of that profit counts, and on Instant it is not credited. Yellow and red flags come from other rules — confirm your program on Trading Rules.

6 min read

## Step 1: Use the in-panel calendar, not a random news site

The live clock at the top of the trader panel is the firm timezone. Restricted windows use that clock.

Before you trade, open [News calendar](https://smpfund.com/account/news-calendar). High-impact rows show when you must stay out (or when profit is reduced) depending on your program.

[Economic news](https://smpfund.com/economic-news) is a public page for reading headlines. Live risk for your challenge still uses the in-panel calendar.

On Prime/Rapid only 40% of the profit from a news-window trade counts. On Instant that profit is not credited at all, while any loss counts in full — the trade is not blocked, so avoid the window. Always confirm on [Trading Rules](https://smpfund.com/trading-rules), not on social media.

![Annotated screen: Use the in-panel calendar, not a random news site](https://smpfund.com/help/screenshots/news-calendar.webp)

- Window
- Impact

## Step 2: Yellow vs red in one sentence each

Yellow: we strip profit (or apply the published haircut) on the offending trades and email you; the account usually stays open. Too many warnings can still fail you — see [Breaches](https://smpfund.com/account/breaches).

Red / hard breach: the account is closed. Read the row on [Breaches](https://smpfund.com/account/breaches) and the matching chapter in [Trading Rules](https://smpfund.com/trading-rules).

Do not keep trading “to recover” after red. Open [Tickets](https://smpfund.com/account/tickets) only if you think the timestamp or trade id is wrong, and attach proof.

![Annotated screen: Yellow vs red in one sentence each](https://smpfund.com/help/screenshots/breaches.webp)

## Open these pages

- [News calendar](https://smpfund.com/account/news-calendar)
- [Economic news (public)](https://smpfund.com/economic-news)
- [Breaches](https://smpfund.com/account/breaches)
- [Trading Rules](https://smpfund.com/trading-rules)

## Related guides

- [My challenges: status, targets, and why MT5 is not enough](https://smpfund.com/help/challenges): This list is the official status of each test (preparing, active, passed, failed). Profit target and loss limits are enforced here. MetaTrader only shows broker P&L.
- [Breaches page: what happened to the account](https://smpfund.com/help/breaches): This list is the official log of yellow warnings and red closures. Read the rule name, time, and numbers. Do not keep trading after a hard breach. Appeals exist only when the page says so.
- [Where the real rules live (and what this help center is)](https://smpfund.com/help/rules-and-faq): Trading Rules is the full contract. FAQ is short answers. This help center is the how-to for buttons and MetaTrader. If they ever disagree, the contract pages win.