“Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news for Austin and Central Texas ... - Austin American-Statesman” plus 2 more |
- Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news for Austin and Central Texas ... - Austin American-Statesman
- Personal Finance: Rhee and Johnson tell their wedding guests to stay home - Washington Post
- Personal Finance: Making up the match on 401(k)s - Philadelphia Daily News
| Posted: 26 Aug 2010 01:05 PM PDT Home > The Ticker > Archives > 2010 > August > 26 > Entry Dell Inc. appears to have regained the edge on riival Hewlett-Packard Co. in its bid for 3Par Inc., a promising maker of advanced data storage systems. Dell said today that it has upped its bid for the Fremont, Calif., company to $24.30 a share, or about $1.6 billion, just slightly more than HP's bid of $24 a share, and that 3Par accepted the offer. Dell's first bid for the company made last week was for $16 a share, or $1.15 billion, which 3Par's board voted to accept. Then HP upset the apple cart this week by offering its own bid of $24 a share, or $1.6 billion. Both computer makers wanted 3Par as a way to bolster their offerings of advanced storage systems to major customers, including large corporations. Analysts say the computer companies believe their ability to offer a wide range of information technology products and services is the key toward building sales and profits. Analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro with Susquehanna International Group, said the move by Dell probably won't settle the bidding war with HP. "There is probably more to come," Fidacaro said, noting that Dell only slightly exceeded HP's financial offer. 3Par's quick acceptance of the Dell offer seems to indicate that it prefers Dell over HP as a buyer, but that probably will not be enough to ward off HP if it is determined to buy the company. "The announcement clearly signals that Dell is working closely with 3Par," the analyst said, adding that may be because Dell has made more assurances about how it will treat the company after the deal is made. Fidacaro said investors may be apprehensive that either Dell or HP ends up paying too much for 3Par, which had only about $200 million in revenue last year. "Both companies have told us they have lofty plans for driving revenue that 3Par couldn't do on its own," he said. But investors will do their own calculations when the final deal is made. "On the surface, it looks pretty expensive," Fidacaro said. Over the past several years, Dell has invested heavily in bolstering its portfolio of products and services to win more business with major customers. Although Dell has invested in other storage related companies, 3Par is believed to offer advanced systems that can efficiently manage large amounts of data and that can shift jobs and assignments quickly. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Personal Finance: Rhee and Johnson tell their wedding guests to stay home - Washington Post Posted: 26 Aug 2010 07:21 AM PDT I've often told future brides and grooms who were having second thoughts about their nuptials - mostly because of financial differences - to take the financial hit and cancel the wedding if they can't find a way to handle the issues. Better to suffer the financial loss of a canceled wedding now rather than enter into a marriage with major money woes that will far exceed a forfeited down payment on a reception or cost of a wedding dress. In such a situation, I hope invited guests would understand that the wedding needed to be called off. I also hope guests would't grouse about any financial losses they incurred from canceled airline reservations or hotel stays. (Speaking on which, have you noticed an increase in the number of hotels that make you pay one-night's stay in advance and you don't get that money back if you cancel too close to your reservation?) But what if the engaged couple just want to change their wedding arrangements because they didn't plan well? Should guests be reimbursed for their losses? Should uninvited guests still feel obligated to send a wedding present? These are questions I had after reading Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts' recent Reliable Source column which said that Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, and D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee downsized their wedding two weeks before the scheduled nuptials. The couple went from a large California wedding to something much smaller with just family and close friends. All others were disinvited. As Argetsinger and Roberts report, Johnson told guests in an e-mail (Really, an e-mail? I would hope they also made personal calls to every one they told to stay home) that the initial plans were "not what we had intended." Johnson and Rhee further said the larger wedding "ended up not being what we wanted." They may have made the decision because a prominent developer was hosting the reception and that wouldn't have been good for Johnson's political career. One word comes to mind: Capricious. Johnson and Rhee are no spring chickens. One would expect they would plan a wedding from the start that reflected what they wanted, one that wouldn't inconvenience invited guests. I'm not sure what Miss Manners would say about this situation. But I do know that I sure the heck would be steaming if I had purchased an airline ticket to fly to California or made a no refund, no change, non-transferable rental car reservation. So, you know I have to ask what you think. The Color of Money Question of the Week: What unreasonable expenses have you ever had to bear because of a crazy wedding situation?" Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. In the subject line, put "Wedding Money Blues." Live Video and Text Chat Today Join me at 11:45 a.m. ET for my live video chat. I will discuss this week's financial hot topics and respond to some questions left over from the previous online text chat. Afterwards, log on and join me to discuss this month's Color of Money Book Club selection, Ilyck Glink's "Buy, Close, Move In: How to Navigate the New World of Real Estate -- Safely and Profitably -- and End Up with the Home of Your Dreams." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Personal Finance: Making up the match on 401(k)s - Philadelphia Daily News Posted: 22 Aug 2010 04:20 AM PDT Posted on Sun, Aug. 22, 2010 Americans are busy squirreling away savings more aggressively than in decades, but not necessarily in their 401(k) plans. And that has observers wondering whether employees are shortchanging their retirement savings. During the recession, many companies stopped giving employees the matching funds that previously persuaded people to save for retirement in workplace savings plans. As a result, some people stopped putting savings in their 401(k) plans. "My fear is that there will be an impact," said Pamela Hess, director of retirement research at Hewitt Associates Inc. "We know that company matches are a big enticement to save." Research shows that people are creatures of habit, Hess added. Once they stop saving, "they get used to having the extra money in their paychecks" and procrastinate about saving again. She expects companies to reinstate matching money once they are more confident about the economy. But the process is taking longer than during past recessions. After the 49 percent downturn in the stock market in 2000-02 and a mild recession, most companies restarted matching employee contributions within six months, Hess said. Now, businesses are in no hurry, but 80 percent said in a Hewitt study they would restore matches. Don't stop now"They are cautious," she said, but cannot afford to give up now.According to Hewitt, 30-year-olds who earn $50,000, save 6 percent of their pay each year until retirement, and get a 3 percent raise annually will end up with about $1,098,000 if they get a 3 percent match from their employer throughout their working lives and earn 7 percent on their 401(k) investments. But if those same people lose their match and give up saving in the 401(k) for just one year, their nest egg will drop to about $1,053,000. Those who stay with their usual 6 percent contributions, despite the absence of a match for a year, should accumulate about $1,083,000. Consequently, financial advisers provide this advice to people who have lost their matches: If you have a 401(k) that does not charge excessive fees and provides solid mutual funds, stay with it if it helps you continue your usual saving behavior. Better yet, increase your contributions to make up for the loss of your employer's match. But if you think the fees are high and the mutual fund choices weak, consider using a Roth IRA for retirement savings, said Deerfield, Ill., financial planner Sue Stevens. There are trade-offs. Compare and contrastAlthough you can save as much as $16,500 a year ($22,000 if you're 50 or older) in a 401(k), a Roth IRA limits you to just $5,000 a person - or $6,000 if you're older than 50. Many people need to save more than $5,000 a year, especially if they are trying to catch up. If you are married, each spouse can put as much as $5,000 into a Roth IRA if one is working, but even $10,000 a year might not be enough. (Try the "ballpark estimate" at www.choosetosave.org and check contribution limits at www.irs.gov.)Consequently, Stevens said, people who need to do significant saving could use Roth IRAs to the max, as well as a 401(k). Anything you put into a 401(k) gives you an immediate tax break, so you do not have to dip as deeply into your pocket to come up with money to save. The Roth IRA does not give you that benefit. But a Roth offers a benefit in retirement that is better than a 401(k): Anything you remove from a Roth IRA during retirement is yours, free and clear. On the other hand, when retirees remove money from a 401(k), withdrawals are taxed. Still, do not procrastinate if you are considering a Roth IRA. Sheryl Garrett, a financial planner and founder of the Garrett Planning Network, suggests opening the IRA immediately, setting it up so money is removed automatically from each paycheck and deposited in mutual funds. Gail MarksJarvis is a personal-finance columnist for the Chicago Tribune. E-mail her at gmarksjarvis@tribune.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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