| Guest column: Home equity loans should be used sparingly
The versatility of the home equity line of credit has many consumers tapping into their home's equity to pay for home improvement projects, college tuition, weddings, new vehicles and credit card consolidation. While there are no restrictions on how the proceeds can be used, using your home's equity as a temporary solution to a long-term problem could jeopardize your home and credit. For example, using a home equity line of credit to consolidate credit card debt can put you into further debt if you continue to use your plastic and carry a balance from month to month. Your home is usually your largest asset. If you choose to use your home for additional credit, be sure you have a plan and purpose for that credit, such as financing a home renovation to improve your asset and increase your home's value.
Highlights: Oil, IBM acquisition, Dow ...
NEW YORK � Oil futures fell Monday but came back from earlier lows after Saudi Arabia's oil minister appeared to defuse rumors that the oil cartel might agree at a meeting this weekend to boost production. However, Ali Naimi left open the possibility that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree to increase output during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, next month.Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $1.70 to settle at $94.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as $93.54 earlier.BOSTON (AP) � IBM Corp. is making its largest acquisition ever, a deal announced Monday to buy Cognos Inc. for $5 billion in cash in hopes of keeping up with rivals in ``business intelligence'' software.The acquisition would follow similar moves in the same market this year.Cognos shares had soared recently on expectations that it, too, would be acquired.
Shareholder Rebellion? Investor Calls For Sale of Maguire Properties
A hedge fund that controls a 5.2% stake in Maguire Properties Inc. (NYSE: MPG), one of Southern California's largest (and downtown L.A.'s largest) office landlords, appears to be dusting off the boxing gloves for an old-fashioned proxy battle. Century City, CA-based JMB Capital Partners, LP, which has acquired about 2.5 million shares of the REIT's stock over the last several months, asked CEO Rob Maguire to relinquish some of his power and create a committee to evaluate strategic options that would likely include the sale of the highly leveraged REIT. The fund also asked Maguire to appoint two JMB representatives to the board, who would also serve on the committee. A Maguire spokeswoman could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but the company has previously declined to comment on matters involving internal operations.
AMD 'to ship half a million RV670s'
WE HAD A TALK with several AMD reps last night, and they're claiming that AMD is going to outship Nvidia in the 8800 vs. 3800 battle. So far, Nvidia's partners have told us that GeForce 8800GT came to market somewhere in the 40-50,000 unit range (overall, including OEM and retail sales) and there is a shortage right now. The funny thing about launch events is that now you have reps from companies that ship both Nvidia and ATI parts and those partners are openly stating where problems lie. It is pretty interesting to hear about very poor allocations for one of the top Graphzilla manufacturers, where the available numbers of parts were 8 to 1 in ATI's favour. AMD plans to ship around 500,000 units of Radeon HD 3850 and 3870 by the year's end, with the accent on single-slot 3850.
|
