| Ailing Centro hit by UBS sell-off
CENTRO shares took another hit yesterday as it emerged banking giant UBS had sold off more of its holding in the stricken shopping centre operator. The market punished Centro for a late announcement after close of trade on Friday afternoon that it could not hedge its interest rate bets, with the company's stock price plunging more than 15 per cent on open. Its share price recovered later in the day, but company scrip still closed down 8.5c, or 6.61 per cent, at $1.20. UBS Global Asset Management sold about $8.6 million in Centro scrip on Thursday last week, taking its holding from 6.32 per cent to 5.26 per cent, the finance giant told the stock exchange yesterday. The latest sell-down follows an earlier sale of 2.31 per cent, revealed on Friday.
Key US senator seeks additions to stimulus package
The White House says we mustn't slow the economic stimulus agreement down, or blow it up," he said. "I agree. We're going to improve it and get it passed right away." The Finance Committee is scheduled to consider the Baucus plan on Wednesday. pete.kasperowicz@thomson.com pik/wash/wash COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News. .
Busting money myths
The only way to determine whether a fund suits your ethical standpoint is to ask about its strategy. Will it invest in mining companies or commercial logging? In tobacco or arms companies? Refinancing Many people refinance their credit-card debts, personal loans and other expensive, unsecured debt on to their mortgage, believing it makes sense to wrap it all up in a single, lower-rate loan. This can be an expensive mistake if you don't keep finances under tight control. The problem is that although you may be able to halve your interest rate by switching your credit-card debts to your mortgage, you're likely to be lengthening the time it takes to pay the balance off -- and that will cost thousands extra. For example, Aussie Home Loans says a $10,000 credit-card balance switched to a mortgage at 8.57 per cent would increase mortgage payments by $81 a month.
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