TheState.com: Business

When to sell a stock

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:52 EDT

Investing requires making tough decisions, but none as tough as deciding when to unload a stock.

“If it’s done really well, it’s like, when is it going to stop doing really well?” said Brian Bruce, director of the Finance Institute at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. “You’re so excited it’s done well.

“If it’s a stock that’s down in price, it takes a lot of discipline to say, ‘I’ve got to take 50 percent of my money off the table.’”

Selling may also mean owning up to an investment blunder.

“It’s difficult because you’re admitting that you made a mistake,” Bruce said. “And if it’s going up, you’re worried that it’s going to go up (more) and you say, ‘Why did I take half of my money out? It just doubled again.”

Smaller vehicles are the new stars among used cars

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:52 EDT

The appeal of fuel efficiency is moving beyond the new-car market and creating a run on small used cars.

Used economy cars that once could be difficult for dealers to move — the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Aveo, for instance — are now flying off the lots, and prices are rising.

In May and June, the 10 used cars with the fastest-rising prices, according to J.D. Power & Associates, included the Hyundai Elantra, up almost 9 percent from the year-earlier period, and the Kia Spectra, up nearly 8 percent.

A few years ago, the list was dominated by larger, more luxurious cars such as the Lexus LS Series.

Some used cars’ prices are even approaching the levels of new models. The average 2006 Honda Civic costs $16,118, or 86 percent of what a new 2008 model costs.

Business is booming— for bill collectors

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:04 EDT

Many industries are hurting these days, but not the debt collections business.

Consumer credit delinquencies have reached their highest levels since 1992, according to the American Bankers Association.

Many of those late on their bills have gotten calls from debt collectors and have had less-than-pleasant experiences.

Consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission about debt collectors have consistently ranked No. 1 among all industries for several years in a row.

The FTC enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits deceptive, unfair and abusive practices by third-party collectors.

McCain, Obama differ on plans for capital gains tax

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:04 EDT

Though the election is four months away, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s plan to raise the capital gains tax rate already is causing anxiety on Wall Street.

Some financial advisers are warning clients — many of them in high-income brackets — to be prepared to shed stocks and other assets to take advantage of the current 15 percent capital gains rate if Obama wins in November and brings along a strong Democratic majority in Congress.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain wants to maintain the capital gains tax at its current 15 percent rate.

Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac investment guide, said the effect is likely to be temporary, and suggested the end result will be an increase in federal revenue and a lowering of the federal budget deficit. That, he added, could help boost the broader economy.

The top rate on capital gains — the profitable sale of stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares and other securities held for more than one year — dropped to about 20 percent, from 28 percent, in 1997 during the Clinton administration, and then to 15 percent in 2003 under President Bush.

You say looming parenthood is stressing you out? Hire a baby planner

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:04 EDT

Having a baby is stressful enough, with anxious hopes for a healthy pregnancy and an ideal childbirth.

Steeped in a multibillion-dollar baby industry, the expectations intensify. What’s the best stroller? Car seat? What’s bisphenol A, and should we worry about it in bottles? Do we need a swing or a bouncy seat?

Meet the baby planners. Like professionals who help arrange parties and weddings, they take charge of decisions, purchases and services when clients are too busy or overwhelmed.

“There’s so much to do” before the baby comes, said Isabel Proto, 39, founder of Big Day Baby Planner in Oceanport, N.J. “If someone is a busy, working person, they don’t have the time.”

Proto had set up baby registries and nurseries for family and friends, advising them about bringing home baby. She knew she could turn her talents into a business when she saw two Los Angeles women who call themselves The Baby Planners on a daytime talk show.

Layoffs: Time for a fresh start?

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:04 EDT

If you’re worried about your job, now isn’t the time to panic. It’s time to get prepared. Kate Lorenz, an editor at Career Builder.com, an online job-search site, suggests ways to prepare for a possible layoff:

• Get organized. Think about what you might want to do next. Print and take home personal files on your computer and locate copies of your performance appraisals and other personnel records. Review your status reports and project files to help you update your resume so that it reflects all of your recent accomplishments and skills.

• Get what’s coming to you. Take advantage of any perks and benefits to which you are entitled. Schedule your checkups and tend to any dental or medical issues while you’re still insured — especially if you’ve already met your deductibles. If you’ve got a flexible spending account, turn in all outstanding claims to avoid forfeiting any balances.

• Get connected. Spend at least one to two hours a day networking. Call your friends, former co-workers and clients. Attend your professional association meetings. Talk to headhunters and corporate recruiters.

• Get searching. Visit the Web sites of any relevant trade and professional associations as well as companies where you’d like to work. Check print and online job postings to see what requirements are being asked for in your desired next job. Note any gaps in your experience or skills.

How to dial down your cell phone costs

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:04 EDT

If you have ever incurred cell phone fees, you know that they can sting. Depending on your plan, the penalty for going over your minutes can range from 5 cents a minute to 45 cents.

If you’ve been getting slapped with fees regularly, it’s probably time to change your behavior — or change your calling plan. Amy Bickers, associate editor at Kiplinger.com, offers three ways to avoid cell phone fees:

Keep track of your minutes

Keeping track of your minutes is not hard, and it is certainly worthwhile. You can check how many minutes you have used on the Internet by setting up an online account with your phone carrier.

You also can check them on your phone, typically by calling into the phone company’s automated system.

Housing jobs plunge

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:24 EDT

The sagging construction industry continues to tug on South Carolina’s economy by eliminating jobs.

The construction industry dropped another 3,200 jobs in June, causing the monthly unemployment rate to reach 6.2 percent, the S.C. Employment Security Commission reported.

That’s a slight improvement from May’s 6.5 percent unemployment, a two-year high. A year ago, the rate was 5.7 percent.

Overall, available construction jobs are 11 percent lower than they were a year ago, the employment commission said.

“That seems to be the main culprit right now,” said Sam McClary, a labor market analyst at the employment commission.

Investors burned; states investigate

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:24 EDT

With some money left over from selling her house in Connecticut, Eileen Selkis says her broker at Wachovia Securities pointed out that she could get a good return — better than the money market account it was in — by moving it to something called auction-rate securities.

“They’re as good as liquid cash,” the Fort Mill resident recalls her broker saying. “You can get to your principal any time.”

That was before the market for those securities began to dry up in February. That means that many investors can’t sell their holdings and get their money out of those securities, and they allege that brokers understated the risks of such investments.

Selkis remembers when her broker called in April, on her 59th birthday, to say she couldn’t access her funds.

“He said, ‘Well, Eileen, I never knew the risks. These things have been safe for 20 years,’” she said. “That’s when my whole world collapsed.”

Midlands won’t lose any Starbucks

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:09 EDT

No Starbucks locations are closing in the Midlands, according to a list released by the company this week.

South Carolina is losing just one Starbucks — on Main Street in Spartanburg. The coffee cafe chain announced last month it was closing 600 locations because of slowing sales.

What’s a college degree worth?

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:24 EDT

A four-year college degree, seen for generations as a ticket to a better life, is no longer enough to guarantee a steadily rising paycheck.

Just ask Bea Dewing. After she earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Maryland’s Frostburg State University in 1986, she enjoyed almost unbroken advances in wages, eventually earning $89,000 a year as a data modeler for Sprint Corp. Then, in 2002, Sprint laid her off.

She spent the next six years in a career wilderness, starting an Internet cafe that didn’t succeed, working temporary jobs and low-end positions in data processing.

In April, Dewing landed a job similar to her old one in the information technology department of Wal-Mart’s Arkansas headquarters. She earns about 20 percent less than she did in 2002, adjusted for inflation, but considers herself fortunate — and wiser.

A degree, she says, “isn’t any big guarantee of employment, it’s a basic requirement, a step you have to take to even be considered for many professional jobs.”

BB&T earnings fall in 2nd quarter

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:09 EDT

BB&T announced this week that earnings fell slightly in the second quarter as it set aside more money for bad loans, but the bank fared well in other areas. Earnings were down 6 percent over the year to $428 million, or 78 cents per share. The bank set aside $330 million for credit losses, up from $88 million the year before. Winston-Salem-based BB&T, South Carolina’s third largest based on deposits, increased in loans and interest income.

South Financial OKs stock sale

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:09 EDT

The South Financial Group, parent of Carolina First bank, said Friday that shareholders approved selling 250,000 preferred shares at $1,000 each to raise nearly $250 million. The Greenville bank, the largest based in the state, posted a $201 million loss in the first quarter and will report second-quarter earnings Tuesday.

S.C. Department Of Vocational Rehabilitation: Workers overcoming disabilities

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:39 EDT

Bobby McQueen gets up every morning and goes to work.

Sounds ordinary — but not to him.

Eight years ago, McQueen became paralyzed in the right arm during a car accident and feared he would never work again.

Today he earns his living as an engineering technician thanks to the S.C. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, which helped strengthen him physically and emotionally and teach him computer skills.

Each year, the department helps about 8,500 South Carolinians with any of 130 disabilities and addictions get back to work, or out to work for the first time.

S.C. Pride to pay for ‘so gay’ ad

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:39 EDT

A Columbia group said Thursday it will reimburse a European travel agency the roughly $5,000 lost when a state tourism agency refused to pay for an ad campaign to draw more gay travelers to South Carolina.

South Carolina Pride said it will seek private donations to pay the cost of the campaign, which included posters in London subway stations proclaiming “South Carolina is so gay.”

After learning of the campaign, lawmakers and activists protested and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism refused to pay the bill. A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said use of public advertising money to promote a social agenda was inappropriate.

The employee who approved the campaign has resigned.

Ryan Wilson, president of South Carolina Pride, said it was important the group pay for the ads. In addition, he said, the disagreement over tourism advertising has helped raise awareness for gay issues in the state.

Customer survey gives SCE&G mixed marks

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:39 EDT

SCE&G scored lower-than-average customer satisfaction ratings compared with other large Southern utilities in a survey released Thursday by J.D. Power and Associates.

Consumers gave the Columbia-based power company low marks for communication and corporate citizenship. The utility got high marks for accuracy and clarity of bills.

Meantime, state-owned Santee Cooper claimed second-place honors for mid-sized utilities in the South, J.D. Power said.

Overall, SCE&G scored 620 on a 1,000-point scale — under a 630 average among Southern counterparts and down from its score of 695 reported in 2007.

But a J.D. Power executive said the scores aren’t an accurate comparison. That’s because the research company switched to using an Internet-based survey for 2008 instead of a phone poll.

Trouble keeps finding IndyMac customers

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:39 EDT

The fear, the hassle, the long lines in the hot sun, and now the wait.

Many IndyMac customers who are moving their money to another bank won't be able to access all of their funds for more than week.

By law, the other banks must make IndyMac cashier's check deposits up to $5,000 available for withdrawal in one business day. But any amount over that can be held up to nine business days.

That's rough for Los Angeles resident Ash Carene, who doesn't have time to wait for an IndyMac check to clear at another bank. He needs more than $100,000 for a down payment by Friday to complete the purchase of a three-bedroom house in San Diego. If he misses the deadline, he could violate the terms of the sales contract and lose his $10,000 deposit.

"I'm still waiting in line to get inside," the 40-year-old computer programmer said Thursday afternoon. "I was here in the morning and left to take care of business. I waited a little bit, hoping the line would get better and came back later."

Stocks move higher as energy prices fall

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:39 EDT

Wall Street surged Thursday, extending its rally into a second session as tumbling energy prices bolstered an already upbeat mood that followed stronger-than-expected quarterly reports from big names such as JPMorgan Chase and United Technologies.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 200 points, bringing its two-day advance to more than 480.

The reports let investors put aside some of their worst fears about the economy. Still, Wall Street has had some up periods in the past few months as optimism grew — only to fall back into a downturn as worries about the financial sector and the economy have welled back up.

After the market closed Thursday, Google and Microsoft announced earnings that missed Wall Street projections, while Merrill Lynch posted a worse-than-forecast loss.

— The Associated Press

AAA Irmo office hosting grand opening

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:41 EDT

AAA Carolinas will have a grand opening celebration Saturday at its new office at 929 Lake Murray Blvd. in Irmo. The office offers travel and insurance services, plus an AutoMark Car Care Center.

GM studying ways to aid older drivers

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:39 EDT

When Coke bottle glasses just won’t cut it for safe driving, a futuristic windshield might do the trick.

General Motors Corp. researchers are working on a windshield that combines lasers, infrared sensors and a camera to take what’s happening on the road and enhance it, so aging drivers with vision problems are able to see a little more clearly.

Though it’s only in the research stage, the technology soon will be more useful than ever. The 65 and older population in the U.S. will nearly double in about 20 years, meaning more people will be struggling to see the road like they used to.

GM’s new windshield won’t improve their vision, but it will make objects stand out that could otherwise go unnoticed by an aged eye.

At the same time, the developers say the technology won’t cause drivers to plow into trees. It is enhancing just a few objects that are already in a driver’s view, not splashing distracting information onto the glass.