Hedging hurts Fairfax bottom line

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. says fluctuating stock and bond markets led to a $364.6 million (U.S.) net loss in its fourth quarter, and "lumpy" earnings throughout 2010.

The company said Friday that it booked $683.9 million in investment losses in the three months ended Dec. 31, primarily from equity hedging and bond markets, but that was partially offset by gains from stocks.

That compared to an investment loss of $30.3 million in the year-earlier period.

Fairfax's efforts to hedge against volatile equity markets protect the company against market slumps, which can cause a huge hit to the bottom line. However, when markets improve, such as in the fourth quarter, hedging can reduce gains from rising stocks.

Meanwhile, bond prices, which are tied to long-term interest rates, fell during the quarter, affecting the company's realized and municipal bond investments.

"We are very vigilant in stock markets to make sure we immediately increase reserves if we see any inadequacy," said chairman and chief executive Prem Watsa said in a conference call Friday.

"Our focus continues to be on underwriting profits with good reserving and not on market share. In the right market, we have the ability to expand significantly. In the meantime, we are patient."

He explained that the company's earnings per share have varied widely throughout each quarter of fiscal 2010.

"With fluctuating markets and mark to-market accounting, we don't see how results can be anything but lumpy. As we said before many, many times, we prefer a lumpy 15 per cent to a smooth 12 per cent over the long term."

Fairfax, one of Canada's largest property and casualty insurance groups, said it is also dealing with challenging insurance underwriting conditions.

It benefited from a lack of major hurricanes in the United States, but did have "above average catastrophe losses," of $331 million, due to earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand last year.

The Toronto-based company said Thursday that its fourth quarter loss amounted to $18.43 per share, compared to $1.65 per share a year ago.

Live Nation Entertainment Acquires Remaining Equity Stake in Front Line Management Group

- Irving Azoff Named Chairman of the Board of Directors -

- Live Nation Enters into Agreement to Sell Additional Shares to Liberty Media -

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: LYV), the world's largest live entertainment company, announced today that it has acquired substantially all of the remaining equity stake in Front Line Management Group, Inc. that it did not previously own for total consideration of $116.2 million in cash and stock.  

On Friday, Live Nation acquired the equity interests in Front Line formerly held by Irving Azoff and Madison Square Garden.  The cash portion of the transaction totaled $56.5 million and was funded with cash on hand.  The remaining $59.7 million was paid using newly-issued shares of Live Nation common stock.  As a result of the transaction, Live Nation will consolidate the entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  Of the total shares issued, Mr. Azoff received 1.8 million shares of common stock and Madison Square Garden received 3.9 million shares of common stock.

"Through this transaction we will further simplify and consolidate our operating structure," said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation.  "By acquiring full ownership of Front Line, we expect to benefit from substantial savings related to cash taxes, the elimination of the dividend and operating synergies resulting in an increase in our free cash flow in excess of $20 million annually.  Front Line is a tremendous asset and a key component of our live entertainment and marketing platform.  We look forward to Irving's ongoing contributions as we continue to focus on increasing the growth potential of our combined operations."

Additionally, the company announced a number of changes to its Board of Directors.  Irving Azoff has been appointed Chairman of the Board, replacing John Malone who stepped down from the Board.  In addition, Greg Maffei, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Media Corporation, has joined the Board and has been named Chairman of the company's newly-formed Executive Committee.

"I am excited to assume the role of Chairman, and on behalf of the entire Board of Directors would like to thank John Malone for his service and welcome Greg Maffei," said Irving Azoff. "Front Line is a valuable part of our integrated entertainment, marketing and eCommerce model and this transaction further strengthens our ability to build on the unique relationship between artist and fan. In addition to my broader responsibilities at Live Nation, I will continue to operate Front Line and ensure we continue to provide services that are in the best interests of our wonderful roster of artists. Moving forward we remain focused on advancing Front Line by signing new artists, strengthening our management team through the addition of proven industry managers and expanding our content distribution globally."

Separately, the company also announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Liberty, whereby Liberty has acquired 1.8 million shares of Live Nation common stock for $18.8 million in cash.  Liberty also agreed to purchase an additional 5.5 million shares of common stock for consideration of $57.7 million in cash, subject to receipt of approval of Live Nation's stockholders, which approval will be sought at the company's 2011 annual meeting of stockholders, and other customary closing conditions.  

"Liberty's investment in Live Nation will enable us to further strengthen our balance sheet and provide us with additional financial flexibility as we execute our growth strategy," added Mr. Rapino.

About Live Nation Entertainment:

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the largest live entertainment company in the world: connecting 200 million fans to 100,000 events in over 40 countries which has made Ticketmaster.com the #3 eCommerce website in the world.  For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.

About Front Line Management Group:

Founded in 2004, Front Line is the world's leading artist management company, with over 250 clients and more than 90 executive managers.  Front Line and its affiliates represent a wide range of major artists, including the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, Fleetwood Mac and Journey.  

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding consolidation of Front Line for U.S. federal income tax purposes, cash tax savings, operating synergies, the potential increase to free cash flow and the issuance of additional shares to Liberty.  Live Nation wishes to caution you that there are some known and unknown factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, operational challenges in achieving strategic objectives and executing on the company's plans, the risk that the company's markets do not evolve as anticipated, the potential impact of the economic slowdown and operational challenges associated with selling tickets and staging events.

Live Nation refers you to the documents it files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, specifically the section titled "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of the company's most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company's projections or forward-looking statements.  You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date on which they are made.  All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or concerning the company are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.  The company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or otherwise.

Additional Information About the Proposed Issuance of the Additional Shares to Liberty and Where to Find It

The proposed issuance of 5.5 million additional shares of Live Nation common stock (the "Additional Shares") to Liberty discussed above will be submitted to the company's stockholders for their consideration at the company's 2011 annual meeting.  In connection with the proposed issuance of the Additional Shares to Liberty, the company intends to file relevant materials with the SEC, including a proxy statement.  INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THESE MATERIALS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE PROPOSED ISSUANCE OF THE ADDITIONAL SHARES TO LIBERTY.  The proxy statement and other relevant materials (when they become available) and any other documents filed by the company with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.  In addition, investors may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by contacting the company's Investor Relations Department at (310) 867-7000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (310) 867-7000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or by accessing the company's investor relations website at www.livenation.com/investors.  Investors are urged to read the proxy statement and the other relevant materials when they become available before making any voting decision with respect to the proposed issuance of the Additional Shares to Liberty. 

Live Nation and its executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participating in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed issuance of the Additional Shares to Liberty.  Information about the executive officers and directors of the company and the number of shares of the company's common stock beneficially owned by such persons is set forth in the proxy statement for the company's 2010 annual meeting of stockholders which was filed with the SEC on October 25, 2010, and will be set forth in the proxy statement the company will file in respect of the proposed issuance of the Additional Shares to Liberty.  Investors may obtain additional information by reading the proxy statement regarding the proposed issuance of the Additional Shares to Liberty when it becomes available.

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

The credit line may disappear?

Your credit line to disappear? In Australia, credit lines, has a flexible way to ensure people's access through their own resources. But what happens when the creditors get a credit line, and what you can do to prevent this from happening. What is a line of credit? A line of credit can allow access home equity in your home to borrow for other reasonsLoan rates.'s Share capital, which is simply the difference between what your home is what ...Continue Reading...

Tags: Choose?, Credit, disappear, Lender, Mortgage, Reverse

As with a home equity line of credit (HELOC) Shop

JANUARY 22, 2011 · POSTED IN EQUITY LINE ARTICLES · COMMENTS OFF 

Shopping for a home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a relatively simple procedure compared to shopping for a mortgage mainly because of a HELOC, the important characteristics that must be sought by the creditor to any of the others. However, it has some special features you need to shop successfully. Here are some key features of home equity lines of credit and should understand that it is investigating whetherShopping for a HELOC. Risks: Before deciding to apply ...Continue Reading...

Tags: (HELOC), Credit, Equity

Home Equity Line of Credit – a good idea for emergencies Rainy Day

JANUARY 17, 2011 · POSTED IN EQUITY LINE ARTICLES · COMMENTS OFF 

Most Americans tend to live on a paycheck to paycheck basis, and the average family nearly $ 10,000 in credit card debt. Moreover, the fact that Americans save money at the lowest rate in history. We spend what they earn if they deserve it, and there is little or nothing available when a disaster or emergency. As the average American can make sure that the money for the "Rainy Day" emergency? One possible solution would be to create an openHome ...Continue Reading...

Tags: Beaded, Credit, Diagonal, Electric, Emergencies, Equity, SalaraPlug, Screen

Home Equity Line of Credit with a bad FICO score

JANUARY 14, 2011 · POSTED IN EQUITY LINE ARTICLES · COMMENTS OFF 

A home equity line of credit or HELOC is a revolving line of credit secured against your home. You can withdraw money from the maximum amount of credit established by the lender. During a specified period, for example, ten years you can borrow money if there is a requirement. The creditor-yield, bonds of looks, credit history, and ultimately its ability to repay the loan borrowed, in approving the loan. Even with a bad FICO score, you can use a HELOC. Here ...Continue Reading...

Tags: Aggies, Boilermaker, Credit, Equity

Ten basic rules of finance Homequity

JANUARY 12, 2011 · POSTED IN EQUITY LINE ARTICLES · COMMENTS OFF 

One - either a loan or equity, please Do you want a cash loan, the tour is to make your property? Credit can be used to pay, and reuse? This is a loan. An equity is an open line of credit you can pre-business if you open it, you can use any time for any purpose, provided that the line is open. You see, when it will be paid because In twenty years, you will have access to it ...Continue Reading...

Tags: Benefits, characteristics, concrete, finance, Homequity

Why do Mortgage Loans beat Home Equity Lines of Credit

JANUARY 7, 2011 · POSTED IN EQUITY LINE ARTICLES · COMMENTS OFF 

The following articles explore the reasons why a second mortgage is a much better choice for a home equity line of credit in most cases and especially in light of current market conditions. Second Mortgage Vs. Home Equity Lines of Credit A second mortgage is like a normal mortgage is a loan guaranteed by the plant, as the insured first mortgage and an interest rate that can be fixed or variable. Flexibility depending on the type of interest rate ...Continue Reading...

Tags: Credit, Equity, Mortgage

Home Equity Line of Credits – Red Light, make the signal

JANUARY 2, 2011 · POSTED IN EQUITY LINE ARTICLES · COMMENTS OFF 

If you need additional resources or problems, a source of such funds without suffering through high interest rates, then it's time to open the largest single resource, your home. Yes, equity loan or line of credit at home can be the best option. Equity line of credit to the house also uses the equity in your home as collateral. But instead of borrowing a lump sum, which allows this type of loanopen a line of credit limit, you can borrow from 

Stocks Ended above Secure Line at NASDAQ are TROW, FFIV, DISCA, CTRP

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. NASDAQ:TROW percentage change raised 0.94% to close at $66.25 with the total traded volume during last trading session was 1.18 million shares containing the average volume of 1.73 million. Its market capitalization is $16.99 billion. Its total outstanding shares are 256.44 million shares with the beta value stands at 1.70 times. Its return on investment was 21.82%.

The company as of Jan 22, 2011 has an Enterprise Value of $16.02 billion where in most recent quarter it had a total cash in hand amounted to $812.30 million with a $11.95 book value per share.

F5 Networks, Inc. NASDAQ:FFIV percentage change moved up 0.75% to close at $109.97 with the total traded volume during last trading session was 9.42 million shares containing the average volume of 2.99 million. Its market capitalization is $8.89 billion. Its total outstanding shares are 80.85 million shares with the beta value stands at 1.29 times. Its return on investment was 15.74%.

F5 Networks, Inc. provides technology that optimizes the delivery of network-based applications, as well as the security, performance, and availability of servers, data storage devices, and other network resources.

Discovery Communications Inc. NASDAQ:DISCA percentage change went up 0.65% to close at $40.04 with the total traded volume during last trading session was 2.19 million shares containing the average volume of 1.90 million. Its market capitalization is $11.38 billion.

Its total outstanding shares are 284.32 million shares with the beta value stands at 0.96 times. Its return on investment was 5.87%.

Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) NASDAQ:CTRP percentage change grew 0.63% to close at $43.07 with the total traded volume during last trading session was 2.03 million shares containing the average volume of 2.67 million. Its market capitalization is $5.87 billion. Its total outstanding shares are 272.44 million shares with the beta value stands at 1.70 times. Its return on investment was 20.80%.

Ctrip.com International, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides travel services for hotel accommodations, airline tickets, and packaged tours in the People's Republic of China.

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Home Equity Loans: Second Mortgage Loan And Home Equity Line Of Credit

A home equity line of credit and a second mortgage loan are both forms of home equity loans. However, when you are out to apply for these you need to have knowledge of advantages and disadvantages of either of these options. This could enable you to choose the right option for your specific financial situation.

A home equity loan could be of two types- second mortgage loan and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). Depending upon your specific financial situation and the amount of money you might need, you could go for either of the alternatives. But each of these options have advantages as well as disadvantages and therefore, when you are considering applying for a home equity finance, it could be important for you to have knowledge regarding the pros and cons of either of the choices. Here is some crucial information which could guide you in your endeavor to take the right decision if you are planning to apply for one.

1. Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)

   Home equity lines of credit or HELOCs provide a greater degree of flexibility to borrowers. But while using a HELOC you need to ensure that the purpose of obtaining it is achieved. To that effect, with a home equity line of credit loan, you could carry out renovation of your home for which financial budget is usually fixed. Remember, HELOCs are in a way comparable to debit cards or credit cards which are tied to the equity built up in your home.

   These types of home equity loan finances normally come standard with variable rates of interest which are much higher than those provided on second mortgage home equity loans. Since the interest rates are variable there are chances that they could get adjusted at regular intervals. As a result, your monthly mortgage payments could increase once your lender resets the home equity line of credit rates associated with the HELOC loan. Alternatively, you also need to take care that you are not tempted to spend money recklessly as a HELOC is very much a debit card.

Get Qualify Today For Home Equity Line Of Credit

2. Home equity second mortgage loans

   Home equity second mortgage loans could be more beneficial in comparison to home equity lines of credit. Normally, the second mortgage rates are fixed over the entire loan duration and you could borrow any amount desired regardless of any kind of temptation. Second mortgage loans could be ideal propositions for getting rid of high interest credit card debts and the best thing about them is that the interest rates are tax deductible under federal income tax laws. But in a way you are only restructuring your credit card debt payments and not completely eliminating them.

   Get Approved for Second Mortgage Loan

   From the aforesaid it is quite clear both the proposals on home equity loans involve risk as in either case your property is getting mortgaged. Above all, the interest rates provided on home equity loans could be much higher than those offered on primary home mortgage loans. So decide what is better for you.

ID thieves zero in on home equity lines of credit

Burnsville resident Mike Calcutt says he was stunned last March when he learned that someone had run up nearly $90,000 in unauthorized charges on his home equity line of credit account at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union.

His shock turned to anger when the credit union informed him that he'd have to repay the money.

Calcutt is among a growing number of victims of wire fraud scams that target people with home equity lines of credit, or HELOC, accounts. The problem came to light several years ago when authorities broke up an East Coast crime ring that had attempted thefts of $36 million from more than 180 account holders, making off with nearly a third of the money.

Now, despite high-profile prosecutions and seminars to teach financial institutions how to thwart such crimes, HELOC frauds are surging anew, according to CUMIS Insurance Society Inc., which provides coverage to most credit unions.

Brad Mundine, regional manager for CUMIS' credit union protection and risk management division, wrote an advisory in November saying that losses involving purloined HELOC accounts have "increased significantly" this year.

"Total losses reported to [the insurer] have exceeded $4 million so far in 2010," Mundine said, adding that most losses from such schemes can be avoided with simple security measures.

Calcutt alleges in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that Affinity Plus didn't get the message. The 46-year-old radiological technologist at Fairview Health Services has a $200,000 HELOC account at the credit union in St. Paul. By happenstance, Calcutt said, he was discussing his 2009 interest payments with Affinity Plus in mid-March when he learned that someone had tapped into his HELOC account a few weeks before.

Turns out, Affinity Plus let someone set up telephonic banking privileges on his account, Calcutt said. Then someone executed a series of nine transfers -- each just below $10,000 -- from his credit line to his savings account. And finally, someone got the credit union to wire the money to a drop account in Boston, from which it has disappeared.

Then came the bad news: Affinity told Calcutt that he'd have to repay $88,593 that was stolen from his account. Adding insult to injury, Calcutt said, the credit union reported him to the credit bureaus in November for late payments after assuring him that it wouldn't do so while the dispute was pending.

Sarah Mason, a senior vice president with Affinity Plus, declined to discuss Calcutt, citing privacy concerns. "Our members' security is a top priority for Affinity Plus and its quality has been verified through multiple audits throughout the years," Mason wrote in an e-mail.

Cases elsewhere

Other suits are springing up that pit consumers against their lenders, and lenders against their insurers.

One case involves an Indiana couple, Marsha and Michael Shames-Yeakel, who discovered $26,500 in bogus charges on their HELOC account at Citizens Financial Bank in 2007. The money was wired to a bank in Austria, from which it disappeared.

Citizens refused to cover the loss, and the couple sued. A federal judge in Illinois denied the bank's motion to dismiss, ruling that couple's negligence claims could proceed.

In another case, a customer of Philadelphia-based SB¹ Federal Credit Union discovered in January that $220,000 had been transferred from his HELOC account and wired to Hong Kong. But unlike Affinity Plus, SB¹ covered its customer's losses and sought to recover the money from its insurers, CUNA Mutual and CUNIS. Those claims were denied, and SB¹ filed suit in August in federal court in Pennsylvania, where the case remains pending.

A key issue in these kinds of lawsuits is whether the affected financial institutions employed sufficient security methods to protect their customers. That's an evolving standard. At one time, it meant passwords and account numbers. Now, such "single-layer authentication" is considered subpar, and many banks require multi-layer authentication methods for remote transactions.

That generally boils down to entering something you have, like an account number and password, and something you know, like your first pet's name.

But crooks are mining public databases, social networking sites and other troves for such information, according to a 2008 webcast presentation by the Credit Union Information Security Professionals Association. Of the 131 banks and credit unions that participated in the presentation, 29 reported getting hit by HELOC wire fraud incidents.

Preventive measures

Now, some banks are issuing their customers "tokens" that generate temporary passwords. Others use e-mail or cell phone text verifications, or simply require customers to appear in person with two forms of ID for large transfers. Customers can also ask for special restrictions on their accounts, limiting wire transfers and imposing stricter authorization requirements.

Home Equity Line Of Credit Rate – Positive Aspects and Drawbacks

The term might sound extremely complicated but fundamentally, what this is is just a way for someone to repay a loan for a house you purchased . Here the home bought is made as collateral for the unpaid amount of the total contract price. Using home equity line of credit poses some advantages and downsides on the part of the property owner.

This line of credit is common among house owners because the home equity line of credit rate is much lesser than in any other credit lines, like, but not limited to, credit cards not to mention that here the rate of interest paid is tax deductible. One other benefit of this line of credit is that, the total equity can be mortgaged up to 85% of the outstanding balance. A lot of homeowners take advantage of this program of the home equity line of credit since they could use the amount acceptable for loans not just for the enhancements and repair of the house itself but additionally the amount can be utilized in different purposes just like education of their children, and on a few cases for payment of medical expenses. Furthermore, the house owners prefer to avail of this on the theory that they'd be paying out their loans just in one institution, thus having the advantage of consolidating their own loans and having to pay them at a lower interest rate. This is what is known as consolidation of loans under a single institution.

On the other hand, this home equity line of credit might also bring harsh disadvantages to the house owners. One big disadvantage for the house owner is that in case they don't pay on time or continually only pay off the interest and not the principal loan, they simply might lose their very own home in the long run. In this fashion, the outstanding balance would merely pile up and before they know it the home can already be subject for foreclosure. The worst is that they could be evicted from the dwelling when this happens.

In order to avoid losing the dream home which one has acquired after a long wait, monetary consultants advocate that the person must first analyze the establishment to deal with. Ask questions which may be useful in the long run, just like, the rates of interest, the steps taken by the institution where he/she may be declared in default, and the choices given by the establishment to the borrower in case he/she is declared in default.

It is thus very much really useful to ask the assistance and assistance of experts in order to have a smart decision in buying a house. They are professionals in this particular field and they are educated. The prospective homeowners must consult them first and seek their advice so that they can decrease the likelihood of being homeless. The internet is one resource.

If you want to learn more about home equity line of credit rate, please visit the most comprehensive online guide on home equity line of credit and read the latest news, find the best offers, discover all the facts and check where to get a home equity credit.