Newspaper Page Text
6A
April 28, 2005
Business
Smart strategies for investing in any market
By CONSTANCE WOODS
Financial Consultant
In recent months, head
line news has highlighted
how quickly the financial
markets can change. For
Serving the
investment needs of
the community.
,;i“ ¥ ) ‘Financial Planning
=4 ‘Money Management
i e ‘Estate Planning
Ja ‘,., ; ‘IRAs and Pension Plans
[ & L
3 e ‘Government Securities
g o ‘Tax-Free Bonds
‘ ‘Corporate Bonds
Constance L. Woods ‘Stocks and Bonds
Financial Planning Speciaist .
Financial Consuftant ‘Mutual Funds
I nt M. f cialst
S::;m":" pvfifi“;";?f” 2 ‘Annuities
One Tenth Street Sutte 60X
Augusta Ga 10901
(706) 823-8144
www fc smithbarey comiwoods :
THIS IS WHO WE ARE. THIS IS HOW WE EARN IT."
"
SMITH BARNEY
citigroup |
1004 Cigrous Bobel Markem inc A 5 (ghe weerred Membe SPC Sou Bamey o ¥ dvamn and service mark of Citgroup
Ho0s! Markets Inc 30t T STEWING 470 3 US4 450 GBIR] Droughout T wed CiTIGROUP and the Umbrets Devce sne
Tademarks and servite meds of Ticorp or B PEae 2nC MY used and QIR P oughout e wond
Family Dentistry
QAT IR TR
W *W:m "Show vour smile!"
S 8 W
, L
S ‘|~ T Y T
"If you're worried about going to the dentist...don't worry, call us!
We take the time to CARE!"
Emergencies Welcome
Mon 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Tues 9:30 AM - 6 PM.
Thurs 10:00AM - 6:OOPM Frlda‘\i 9 AM - 2 PM, Saturday 9 AM - | PM
1930 C Highland AVE.
*/&\_.4,!“.!_,'. '*_S'W\_\,:.JN_ 2 DERR
XX Ve W X : e
" Buy Your Home With Confi’dence, Sell Your Home With Pride"
*Resale
@ -Rental
*‘New Buyers
Khalid Franklin i
Certified Inspections
Ph: (706) 394-2196- (706) 651-0239
some investors, this news
has precipitated a degree of
uncertainty about the
future, and possibly
prompted them to look for
“safe” havens to help them
AUGUSTA FOCUS
preserve and protect their
investments.
Investors are least likely
to be permanently affected
by current volatility if they
keep their wits about them,
as past experience has
shown. Also, by adhering
to a long-term investment
strategy, they could be in a
better position to benefit
when the market recovers.
Meanwhile, here are
some Investment strategies
that- when carefully
applied- could help better
prepare investors to
respond to any major eco
nomic and investment
trends that may affect port
tolio performance.
*Periodically fine-tune
the portfolio’s asset alloca
ÜBS to offer American Express cards to clients
NEW YORK (AP) — Travel
and finandial services company
American Express Co. on
Monday announced a third
banking partner in its bid to
deepen participation in the
U.S. market.
Investment bank ÜBS AG
will give its American clients
access 1o charge card, credit
card and automated teller
machine, or ATM, services
through their ÜBS manage
ment accounts.
tio.
*Review equity positions.
*Take advantage of con
vertible securities
*Consider the guaran
teed income, tax benefits
and death benefit guaran
tees of variable annuities:
*Rebalance the portfolio
with fixed-income oppor
tunities.
*Consider alternatives to
cash.
*Set investment horizons
globally
*Establish a regular
investment program, such
as dollar cost averaging.
Some Helpful Reminders
*Now is not the time to
ignore or abandon invest
ment portfolios
*The longer the time
horizon, investors should
The program, which is
expected to be,fin in the fourth
quarter, will be provided by
Juniper Bank, a member of the
Barclays PLC group, which
will issue an American Express
branded charge card and a Visa
Signature credit card, ÜBS
said.
The program will also offer a
consolidated rewards program,
ÜBS said.
In mormning trading, Ameri
can Fxpr:s‘.slr;fiarm rose 28 cents
to $51.00 on the New York
Stock Exchange. Barclay’s
Amcricm—lradccf shares were
down 9 cents at $42.15, also
on the Big Board.
Last December, New York
based American Express signed
an agreement to issue credit
cards with Citibank, the bank
ing division of Citgroup Inc.,
the nations largest financial
institution.
Earlier, MBNA Corp. began
issuing Amenican Express cards
in the United States.
All the deals follow an Oct. 4,
2004, ruling by the US.
Supreme Court that let stand a
lower court ruling requirin,
Visa USA and Mastcr(‘ars
International to allow their
Textile-maker Guilford
Mills to lay off 230 workers
GREENSBORO, N.C.
(AP) = Guilford Mills Inc.
will close a polyester yarn
plant in Greensboro and
cut . nearly half of its
workforce at a similar
plant, laying off about
230 workers of the former
Fortune 500 textile
maker.
The two sites produce
fibers used by the auto
mobile industry and
“both are underutilized,”
chief financial officer
David Taylor said Tues
day, April 19,
June 18 will be the last
work day for the 100
employees at the Greens
boro plant and 130 work
ers at the plant in south
ern Wake County, the
company said.
The decision leaves just
one textile plant in Guil
ford Mills’ headquarters
of Greensboro, home to
about 380 administrative
and factory workers. The
company has 2,600
employees worldwide,
with 1,700 in North Car
be less concerned about
short-term market fluctua
tions
*A diversified portfolio
held for longer-time incre
ments may help reduce
the risk of losing money
These strategies can
work smartly to help pru
dent investors potentially
take advantage of the
changing financial mar
ketplace.
Past performance is
never a guarantee of
future results.
Dollar cost averaging
does not guarantee a prof
it or protect against loss.
Investors should consider
their ability to sustain
investments during peri
ods of market downturns.
member banks to issue com
peting cards. Earier Visa and
Master Card rules had blocked
banks from doing so.
In Monday’s announcement,
Tom Naratl, executive vice
president of ÜBS Wealth Man
agement USA, said in a state
ment he believed “our dients
will benefit from the choice,
simplicity and value provided
by our new offering.”
Barry Rodrigues, executive
vice president of American
Express, welcomed Juniper
Bank to the card’s network sys
tem and said the new card for
ÜBS customers *'will be cus
tomized with high-value bene
fits and distinctive rewards.”
ÜBS, which is headquar
tered in Zurich, Switzerland,
operates in more than 50 coun
tries.
Juniper Finanaal Corp., a
member of the Bardays Group,
is a credit card issuer headquar
tered in Wilmington, Del. Bar
days, which is headquartered
in London, operates in 60
countries.
olina.
The company filed for
bankruptcy protection in
2002. It was sold in Feb
ruary 2004 to Cerberus
Capital Management, a
New York private equity
firm.
On Friday, Guilford
Mills announced the res
ignation of president and
chief executive officer|
John Emrich. He said lasts
week he was leaving Guil
ford Mills “by mutual
agreement.” :
Emrich had shifted the |
company away from
apparel manufacturing to |
focus primarily on auto-|
motive textiles, said Sami
McNeil, a consultant who |
works with financially’
troubled companies. Ris-h
ing oil prices make that aE
risky proposition, he said.
“Guilford Mills placed ag
big bet on the auto indus
try, and, clearly, that
industry is just not doing
well,” McNeil said.
Variable annuities are
sold by prospectus, which
contain more information
including charges and
expense.
A prospectus can be
obtained from your
Financial Consultant;
please read the prospectus
carefully before investing.
Death benefit guarantees
are provided by the
claims-paying ability of
the issuing insurance
company.
Constance Woods is a
Financial Consultant
with Smith Barney. For
more information, con
tact Constance L. Woods
at (706) 823-8144 or
constance.L..woods@smit
hbarney.com.
The dirt
on getting a
cleaner office
(NAPSI) - Safe computing
is about more than just pro
tecting against break-ins and
viruses. You also have to pro
tect your computer against
bacteria.
With todays hectic work
loads and longer work hours,
youre probably spending
more time than ever at your
desk. Keeping it dean, along
with the desktop accessories
that cover it-particulardy the
computer-is often not a top
prionity. In fact, a recent survey
revealed that 75 percent of
U.S. adult computer users do
not dean either their comput
er keyboard or computer
accessories, such as a mouse or
mouse pad, on a weekly basis.
Dirty desktops, including
undean computers, could lead
to ideal conditions for damag
ing microbes, such as bacteria,
to grow and reproduce. Even
more startling, under the right
conditions, some microbes can
duplicate every 20 minutes or
less on an inviting surface.
That's why there’s now a line
of antimicrobial computer
accessories featuring key
boards, mice and mouse pads
with Microban product pro
tection. This antimicrobial
technology provides an added
level of deanliness by inhibit
ing the uncontrolled growth of
damaging microbes, such as
bacteria, that can cause stains,
odors and product deteriora
tion. It works continuously so
that when microorganisms
come in contact with the sur
face of a mouse, keyboard or
mouse pad with Microban
protection, the technolo,
penetrates the cell wall of d?c'
microorganism, disrupting
key odlfi‘cdons and making
the microbes unable to func
tion, grow or reproduce.
Cleaning and disinfecting
desktops can reduce and may
even temporarily rid ordinary
untreated surfaces of microbes.
However, the effect is short
lived and does not prevent
remaining or redeposited bac
teria from reproducing on the
surface over short periods of
time.
Created by Fellowes, the
new assortment of input
devices with Microban antimi
crobial product protection
indudes basic, cordless and
3onomic keyboards, an opti
mouse, a cordless mouse
and a selection of mouse pads.