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LONDON (AFX) - Here are the top stories on AFX News

Deutsche Telekom Q4 adj EBITDA drops 12.5 pct as weak domestic ops weigh

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Deutsche Telekom AG’s adjusted fourth-quarter EBITDA fell 12.5 pct as the German telecoms giant continued to struggle with weak business in its home market.

EBITDA adjusted for special factors in the three months to Dec 31 was 4.548 bln eur, down from 5.199 bln in the same period a year earlier, the Bonn-based company said. This fell short of the 4.650 bln consensus forecast of analysts polled by AFX News.

Swiss Re FY net beats forecasts; launches 6 bln sfr buyback, hikes div

ZURICH (AFX) - Swiss Re reported a forecast-beating full year net profit of 4.560 bln sfr, up from 2.304 bln a year earlier, citing a disciplined underwriting approach in its property & casualty business lines, consistent returns from the life & health segment and a rising contribution from its financial services.

Analysts polled by AFX News forecast net profit to reach 3.268-3.882 bln sfr or 3.641 bln on average.

InBev FY net rockets on higher sales driven by Lat America volumes

BRUSSELS (AFX) - InBev SA said its net profit has rocketed year-on-year, in-line with expectations, on higher sales and driven by volume growth in Latin America, with the brewer eclipsing its long-term operating margin target.

Full year net for the Leuven-based group soared to 1.41 bln eur from 904.0 mln last year and in line with 1.35-1.49 bln forecasts. For the fourth quarter, net jumped to 371.0 mln eur from 165.0 mln.

Telefonica FY net up 40.2 pct at 6.233 bln eur vs 4.446 bln; in line

MADRID (AFX) - Telefonica SA said net profit grew 40.2 pct to 6.233 bln eur in the full year to December from 4.446 bln a year earlier, in line with analysts’ forecasts for 4.113-6.898 bln, on revenues of 52.901 bln, up from 37.383 bln.

In a statement, the telecos giant said operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) rose to 19.126 bln eur from 15.056 bln, also in line with forecasts for 13.913-20.876 bln.

Andritz FY EBIT up 49.78 pct, div up 50 pct

VIENNA (AFX) - Andritz said it will increase full year dividends after EBIT for 2006 grew almost 50 pct to 159.8 mln eur versus 106.7 mln eur, beating analyst consensus of 150.51 mln, thanks to increased orders and the first time inclusion of VA TECH Hydro.

The company said it will propose a 50 pct increase in 2006 dividend to 3 eur a share at its shareholder meeting on Mar 29.

Synthes posts strong FY net profit, in line with consensus

ZURICH (AFX) - Synthes Inc reported improved full year net profit of 508.8 mln usd, up from 436.0 mln usd last year driven by continued growth in all lines amid new product launches and sales force expansion and roughly meeting analyst expectations.

Looking ahead, the Swiss medical device maker said it expects to achieve low double digit sales growth in local currencies in 2007, while planning to raise this year’s dividend to 0.75 sfr per share from 0.70 sfr per share last year.

Belgacom to cut 1,500 jobs over 5 years - report

BRUSSELS (AFX) - Telecoms group Belgacom will cut up to 1,500 jobs or 10 pct of its total workforce over the course of the next five years, Belgian financial daily De Tijd reported.

The job cuts are due to restructuring within the organisation after Belgacom acquired ICT group Telindus and mobile network operator Proximus in 2006, the newspaper said.

Beiersdorf sells French logistics and production ops to Fareva, Dentressangle

Beiersdorf AG said its Beiersdorf France unit has concluded negotiations to sell its production operations to Fareva and its logistics facilities to Nobert Dentressangle.

The new operators will take over the contracts of all staff, added the company in a statement.

Tenaris Q4 net rises 51 pct to 574.8 mln usd, beating market expectations

MILAN (AFX) - Tenaris SA reported fourth-quarter net profit up 51 pct to 574.8 mln usd, representing earnings per share of 0.49 usd and beating market expectations of 525.2 mln.

However, sales and operating profits came in below expectations.

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The following are stock buybacks announced over the past 30 days.

(Interested in learning more about buybacks and why they’re important? Check out http://www.thestreet.com/funds/investingbasics/10269276.html)

COMPANY SYMBOL AMOUNT NOTES
2/26/2007
Affiliated Managers Group AMG 3 mln shares
Innospec Inc. IOSP $5 mln through May 2007
MDS Inc. MDZ $431.3 mln dutch auction tender offer
Xilinx XLNX $1.5 bln adds to prior plan
XL Capital Ltd. XL $1 bln includes prior plan
2/23/2007
Lam Research Corp. LRCX $750 mln adds to prior plan
Lincoln National Corp. LNC $2 bln adds to prior plan
MFB Corp. MFBC 5% of outstanding 66,000 shares
PMI Group PMI $150 mln adds to prior plan
2/22/2007
Covance Inc. CVD 3 mln shares adds to prior plan
CIBER CBR $10 mln
Eastern Insurance Holdings EIHI 5% of outstanding
Hartford Financial Group HBOS 300,000 shares prior plan complete
Heritage Financial Group HBOS 300,000 shares prior plan complete
KLA-Tencor Corp. KLAC 10 mln shares adds to prior plan
Lamar Advertising LAMR $500 mln adds to prior plan
M&T Bank Corp. MTB 5 mln shares 4.6% of outstanding
RC2 Corp. RCRC $75 mln over 1 year
Tractor Supply Co. TSCO $200 mln over 3 years
2/21/2007
Anglo American PLC AAUK $3 bln
Annapolis Bancorp ANNB 5% of outstanding 200,000 shares
Eastman Chemical Co. EMN $300 mln replaces prior plan
LandAmerica Financial Group LFG 1.5 mln shares 8.5% of outstanding
Medco Health Solutions MHS $3 bln adds to prior plan
2/20/2007
American Tower Corporation AMT $1.5 bln over 1 year
A.O. Smith Corp. AOS 1 mln shares
Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. BBW $25 mln over 1 year
Carter’s Inc. CRI $100 mln
Kraft Foods Inc. KFT $5 bln over 2 years
Rx Processing Corp. RXPC 15 mln shares
Sealy Corporation ZZ $100 mln
2/19/2007
Service Corporation International SCI $164 mln adds to prior plan
2/16/2007
Honeywell HON $3 bln adds to prior plan
Hubbell Inc. HUBA $200 mln upon completion of prior plan
Rogers Corporation ROG $50 mln
2/15/2007
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. ABG 1.3 mln shares
Avaya Inc. AV $500 mln over 2 years
Caterpillar Inc. CAT $7.5 bln over 5 years
Estee Lauder Cos. EL 20 mln shares adds to prior plan
Idexx Laboratories IDXX 2 mln shares adds to prior plan
Preformed Line Products Company PLPC 200,000 shares 3.7% of outstanding
Sterling Bancorp STL 800,000 shares adds to prior plan
T. Rowe Price Group TROW 15 mln shares adds to prior plan
Xerox Corp. XRX $500 mln adds to prior plan
2/14/2007
Archer Daniels Midland Company ADM $400 mln
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. BNI 30 mln shares adds to prior plan
CSX Corporation CSX $2 bln through 2008
Diebold, Inc. DBD 2 mln shares adds to prior plan
NutriSystem Inc. NTRI $200 mln expires 8/07
2/13/2007
Blonder Tongue Laboratories Inc. BDR 100,000 shares adds to prior plan
Centennial Bank Holdings CBHI 924,490 shares adds to prior plan
CBIZ Inc. CBZ 5 mln shares 66.6 mln shares outstanding
Keithley Instruments Inc. KEI 2 mln shares replaces prior plan
Rockwell Collins COL $500 mln replaces prior plan
2/12/2007
3M Co. MMM $7 bln over 2 years
Administaff Inc. ASF 1 mln shares adds to prior plan
Advent Software ADVS 2.25 mln shares adds to prior plan
Anixter International Inc. AXE $100 mln prior plan complete
2/9/2007
ConocoPhillips COP $3 bln adds to prior plan
Nelnet NNI 10 mln shares including prior plan
Ohio Valley Banc Corp. OVBC 175,000 shares over 1 year
Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. SFUN 1.5 mln shares 4.8% of outstanding
2/8/2007
Alliant Energy Corp. LNT $200 mln adds to prior plan
Black & Decker BDK 3 mln shares adds to prior plan
Broadcom Corp. BRCM $1 bln over 12-18 months
Express Scripts ESRX $1 bln if no Caremark merger
Global Cash Access Holdings GCA $50 mln
Juniper Networks JNPR $1 bln adds to prior plan
Perrigo Co. PRGO $60 mln over 2 years
Smith & Nephew SNN $1.5 bln over 2 years
UPS UPS $2 bln including prior plan
2/7/2007
Corporate Executive Board EXBD $200 mln adds to prior plan
Equifax EFX $250 mln adds to prior plan
Hooker Furniture HOFT $20 mln including prior plan
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. PXD $300 mln prior plan complete
Rockwell Automation ROK $1 bln
2/6/2007
BHP Billiton Ltd. BHP $10 bln
Gartner Inc. IT $200 mln replaces prior plan
LSB Financial Corp. LSBI 100,000 shares
Pulaski Financial Corp. PULB 5% of outstanding prior plan complete
2/5/2007
Avocent Corp. AVCT 2 mln shares adds to prior plan
Bank Mutual BKMU 3 mln shares adds to prior plan
Federal Agriculture Mortgage Corp. AGM 1 mln shares prior plan complete
Hewitt Associates HEW $750 mln over 24 months
Providence Service Corp. PRSC 1 mln shares
Simpson Manufacturing SSD $50 mln through 2007
2/2/2007
Commerce Bancshares CBSH 2.84 mln shares adds to prior plan
Noble NE 10 mln shares adds to prior plan
Temple-Inland TIN 5 mln shares adds to prior plan
TJX Cos. TJX $1 bln adds to prior plan
2/1/2007
Bemis BMS 3 mln shares adds to prior plan
Hanesbrands Inc. HBI 10 mln shares
Lehman Brothers Holdings LEH $822 mln adds to prior plan
MBIA MBI $1 bln adds to prior plan
St. Paul travelers STA $3 bln replaces prior plan
Wesco International WCC $400 mln
1/31/2007
Cardinal Health CAH $1.5 bln adds to prior plan
FirstEnergy FE 16 mln shares 330 mln shares outstanding
Fiserv FISV 10 mln shares prior plan complete
Griffin Land & Nurseries GRIF 150,000 shares over 12 months
Labor Ready LRW $75 mln adds to prior plan
McGraw-Hill Cos. MHP 45 mln shares 12.7% of outstanding
NuCO2 NOCO $50 mln through 2007
Sonic SONC $89.3 mln adds to prior plan
1/30/2007
Atlas America ATLS 1.95 mln shares dutch auction tender offer
Concur Technologies CNQR 2 mln shares over 2 years
Leadis Technology LDIS 2.5 mln shares through 2007
Entergy Etr $1.5 bln
National Instruments NATI 1.5 mln shares adds to prior plan
Union Pacific UNP 20 mln shares over 3 years
1/29/2007
Brocade Communications Systems BRCD $200 mln
First Financial Holdings FFCH 600,000 shares 5% of outstanding
Gymboree GYMB $50 mln over 1 year
Marathon Oil Corp. MRO $500 mln adds to prior plan
U.S. Express Enterprises XPRSA $15 mln over 1 year
1/26/2007
Sturm, Ruger & Co. RGR $20 mln
BankUnited Financial Corp. BKUNA 600,000 shares adds to prior plan
Capital One Financial Corp. COF $3 bln
CIT Group CIT $500 mln adds to prior plan
National City Corp. NCC 75 mln shares dutch auction tender offer
Parker Hannifin PH 5.3 mln shares adds to prior plan
St. Jude Medical STJ $1 bln
Symantec SYMC $1 bln prior plan complete
Tempur-Pedic TPX $100 mln
1/24/2007
Associated Banc-Corp ASBC 5% of outstanding adds to prior plan
Bank of America BAC 200 mln shares adds to prior plan
Cypress Semiconductor CY $300 mln
East West Bancorp EWBC $30 mln
eBay EBAY $2 bln adds to prior plan
FreightCar America RAIL $50 mln
MB Financial Inc. MBFI 1 mln shares over 12 months
Rome Bancorp ROME 423,000 shares over 12 months
Charles Schwab SCHW $500 mln adds to prior plan
Varian VARI $100 mln prior plan complete
Willow Financial Bancorp WFBC 5% of outstanding over 2 years
1/23/2007
CKE Restaurants CKR $50 mln adds to prior plan
Integrated Device Technology IDT $200 mln prior plan complete
Provident Financial Holdings PROV 5% of outstanding prior plan complete
Southcoast Financial Corp. SOCB 547,194 shares 10% of outstanding
1/22/2007
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ 5% of outstanding over 12 months
Citizens South Banking Corp. CSBC 400,000 shares adds to prior plan
Eaton Corp. ETN 10 mln shares replaces prior plan
Plumas Bancorp PLBC 250,000 shares 5% of outstanding
Source: The Online Investor

This week, Bonnie in Georgia is steamed because her bank charged a fee without telling her about it and wants to know what she can do to get her money back. Deana in Boise is wonder if a 401k retirment plan is still a good bet.

Why am I charged extra for my safe deposit box because I choose not to allow the bank to automatically deduct the box rental from my checking account? Last year, the bank deducted $35 without my authorization, even after I paid the $45 rental for the year because I choose not to do the automatic deduction from my account. … Whats the solution? Where do I go for help with the problem?
Bonnie C., Rex, Ga.

The reason you’re charged these nuisance fees is that, with interest rates low, banks have looked elsewhere for profits like the blizzard of fees on every transaction they can think of. These fees now create tens of billions of dollars in revenues each year for banks and credit card companies. So much for “free” checking accounts.

It sounds like its time to look for another bank or at least tell them youre leaving unless they remove the fee. You may find theyll do this as a courtesy if youre a good customer. These fees are based on the notion that customers like you may steam about them and call customer service, but that you’ll ultimately give up when your only recourse to listen to a faceless voice at the other end of a toll-free number recite “bank policy” from a manual.

Fortunately, you don’t have to stop there. If you feel youve exhausted the option of working with the bank, your next step is to find the consumers affairs agencies in your state that handle banking complaints. In most states, general consumer complaints are handled by a department of the Attorney Generals office, while banking complaints are handled by state bank regulators.

Before actually filing the complaint, try one last call to the bank, telling them you’re not giving up and citing the names of the agencies you plan to contact. Be as specific as possible so they know you’re serious.

In Georgia, the address of your consumer affairs agency is:Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs
2 Martin Luther King Jr., Drive SE, Suite 356
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4600
For more information, check theirr http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_modifieddate/0,2096,5426814_5684688,00.html.

Your state banking regulator is:Department of Banking and Finance
2990 Brandywine Road, Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30341-5565
Web info is http://www.ganet.org/dbf/consumer_resources.html

And heres the address for federal bank regulators:Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street/ Suite 3450
Houston, TX 77010
Web info is http://www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm#Filing%20a%20Formal%20Complaint.

If talking to the bank hasnt worked, give them one more chance to do the right thing: write a letter to the branch manager, saying youd like 1) to have the matter corrected to your satisfaction or 2) a written reply explaining why they wont do so within 10 business days, otherwise you will forward your written complaint to the appropriate consumer affairs agencies. Include the exact name and address of these agencies for your state (you can do this on the Web.)

When you write up your complaint, be as specific as possible names of people you spoke to, dates, etc. but dont overdo it. Brief is better. And skip the attitude: make this all business, not personal.

In your letter, refer to the names and addresses of the agencies you plan to contact, but dont send copies just yet. Youre giving the bank one more shot at correcting the problem in your favor before you start a trail of paperwork with regulators that the bank will have to deal with. Your hope is that theyll decide its easier (and cheaper) to fix the problem than to deal with the paperwork of responding to a formal, well-targeted consumer complaint. (Once you actually file the complaint, they no longer have a reason to play nice.)

Sometimes the letter itself, worded this way, will shake them loose. If not, youve got a written record of the problem, along with their response refusing your request or no response. All this makes it more likely youll get interest from the folks at the consumers affairs agencies. Without written records, its he said, she said which makes the job of following up a complaint much more difficult. If the bank refuses to reply in writing, you have additional proof they’ve been unresponsive to your problem.

You may find out that the bank is within the letter of the law, and knows it, and that filing complaints with the right regulators wont accomplish anything.

But its worth a shot. If everyone did this, banks might think twice about assessing more of these nuisance fees in the first place.

Is a 401-k still a good bet?
Deana B., Boise, Idaho

These employer-sponsored retirement plans (named for the paragraph in the federal law that set them up) are always a good bet, especially when your employer matches your contributions. Those matches are free money. And you can invest without paying taxes on your gains until you withdraw the money for retirement.

The “betting” comes when you try to decide where to invest your 401K. There are still plenty of risky mutual funds and other alternatives available to 401k holders so just because your savings are in in a 401k doesn’t mean you won’t lose money.

If you prefer not to take on a lot of risk, you can always invest in bonds or other relatively low-risk investments. The safest is probably a money market mutual fund, but you’ll have a hard time getting ahead: these days, these funds barely keep up with inflation. To get higher returns, youll have to choose one of stock funds offered by the plan.

For smaller amounts of money, mutual funds are a great way to invest in stocks because they minimize your risk: the fund will spread your money around among a number of stocks, so you dont have to put all your eggs in a just a few baskets. If you do choose to put some of your savings in stock funds, spread your account among several funds that perform differently in different markets and economic cycles. Youll hear different suggestions about how to mix it up; Wall St. types came up with the term asset allocation to make it sound more complicated than it is. Some of the categories to look at are growth or value stocks, foreign stocks, domestic bonds, etc. Most of the major fund companies have tons of information on their Web sites about all this.

One of the biggest mistakes many 401K investors make is to set one up and then forget about it. Once you choose a fund, you need to monitor that fund’s performance to make sure the folks making investment decisions for you are making good ones. Fund investing creates a risk of its own call it management risk. The risk is that the fund manager does a lousy job and you wind up with less money than the overall market averages.

If one of your funds doesnt keep up with average performance of other funds in that category, switch to another fund. You dont need to watch your account daily. Every three months, your fund should provide you with information on how well it did. The information may be buried in a lot of rosy commentary from the fund manager. If you cant find it, call your 401K administrator and ask. Web sites like Morningstar.com also have this information.

If you dont feel comfortable choosing a fund or dont have the time to research them you might want to choose an index fund, These just track the stock index you choose. An S&P 500 index fund, for example, buys all the stock in the S&P 500 index. So your account with go up and down along the overall stock market. Since most managers don’t beat the index, the odds are you’ll beat most funds. Index funds also charge lower management fees because they don’t have to pay a lot of people to research stocks and make investment decisions: all they do is buy stocks in the index.

No matter where you invest, you’ll still get the two main benefits of 401k that you wouldn’t get from conventional savings: the tax advantages (you don’t get taxed on investment gains until you withdraw the money, so it grows faster) and that “free” money from your employer.

So max it out, but choose carefully where you put it and keep an eye on it along the way.

2007 MSNBC Interactive 2007 MSNBC Interactive