| Ask the Biz Brain
I owe $30,000 in credit card debt at a rate of 10 percent and have been offered a home-equity line of credit at 7 percent. Should I use it to pay off the cards? Is there a better way to pay them off? -- MarkThe idea "makes all the mathematical sense in the world," says Ron Garutti, a certified financial planner with Langdon Ford Financial in Clinton. "Not only is the 3 percent savings a great improvement, the 7 percent could be tax deductible," Garutti said. "If the person is in the 28 percent tax bracket and the 7 percent loan is tax deductible, the net effect will be a loan percentage of 5.04 percent. That is an interest savings of essentially half for making the switch. "Sounds like a no-brainer on paper," he said. "But people do not live on paper." The real problem, Garutti said, is that you need to change your spending habits.
While Resource Bank has been the catalyst to a modest deterioration to asset quality metrics, the higher level of ...
16/11/2007 21:32:00 Business Wire US6026821065 Fitch Ratings downgraded Fulton Financial Corp s (FULT) long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to A- and affirmed the short-term IDR at F1 .
FULT s rated subsidiaries were also affected by this action and are included at the end of this release.
The Rating Outlook is Stable.
FULT s ratings are as follows: --Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) downgraded to A- from A ; --Short-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) affirmed at F1 ; --Individual rating downgraded to B from A/B ; --Subordinated debt downgraded to BBB+ from A- ; --Support at 5 ; --Support Floor at NF ; The Rating Outlook is Stable.
The ratings downgrade reflects FULT s difficulty over the last several quarters with a negative trajectory of asset quality and its adverse impact to earnings.
Growing credit debt is crushing Canadians: study
A new study of Canadians' credit debt finds that a whopping 25 per cent owe between $10,000 and $40,000, and 28 per cent don't even know the interest rate they pay on their main credit card. The report by Credit Canada and Capitol One was timed for release during their Credit Education Week, and is designed to raise awareness of good financial management. Laurie Campbell, of Credit Canada, said the numbers -- which don't factor in mortgage debt -- were surprisingly high. "The numbers are quite startling, even I was quite surprised, but nevertheless, this is truly what we're seeing," Campbell told CTV's Canada AM. "Savings rates at an all-time low and debt rates at an all-time high so this financial literacy week in my opinion is long overdue." The study, which questioned 4,000 respondents about their personal credit debt practices, found a disconnect between Canadians' debt levels and retirement plans.
AMD launches ATI Radeon HD 3800 series
AMD's graphics card label ATI today unveiled its anticipated Radeon HD 3800 series, a new chipset that promises better performance for the mid-range as well as new graphics features. The line bucks the trend of reserving new visuals for high-end cards by introducing support for Microsoft's upcoming DirectX 10.1 (and according OpenGL 2.0 features) and its enhanced features, such as high dynamic color range for lighting and improved anti-aliasing effects. For Windows, the 3800 series also introduces CrossFire X, a new technology that allows users with supporting AMD mainboards to use as many as four graphics cards in tandem to improve 3D performance beyond even what may be possible with higher-end graphics cards. Regardless of software, the Radeon HD 3800 series is also far cooler than the outgoing Radeon HD 2600 it replaces.
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