Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • B8

Austin American-Statesman BUSINESS Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Page tions, including Livestrong, the organization created by cyclist Lance Armstrong to help cancer survivors, have signed up as corporate members and receive a discounted rate. are a forward-thinking organization. Car2Go is a perfect match of being progressive and said Mona Patel, a Livestrong executive. Employees can use Car2Go instead of taking their own cars or a cab for Livestrong- related business. dollar saved is a dollar toward our Patel said Asked about any complaints, she said, only thing love to see is a Car2Go stop at the airport.

But otherwise, there are Car2Go stops all over Austin, so our employees never have any nding an available car. The City of Austin pilot ends Nov. 17; of cials have not decided whether to extend it, said Leah Fillion, of the transportation department. Success in Germany hard to say whether Daimler is making any money from the project. The company has not disclosed financial data.

But of cials said Car2Go is doing well in the southwest German city of Ulm, the only other city where the program operates. In Ulm, 20,000 people including one of every three licensed drivers between 18 and 36 are registered users. That could be because Car 2Go rentals in Germany are cheaper on a per-minute basis, even though gas is more than twice as expensive in Germany than in the U.S. Ulm customers pay 26 cents per minute. Austinites pay 35 cents a minute, or $12.99 on an hourly basis, $65.99 for a day.

The rates include gas; a gas card comes with every car. Some experts such as Andreas Knie, a well-known German mobility researcher, assume that neither operation is yet profitable. or later, have to raise the rates and have to change the billing to cover their costs, Knie said. A Daimler spokeswoman, Juliane Muehling, said the Car2Go project is at an early stage where are normal, and that Daimler now has a base of results on which to develop a profitable business model. But Knie also says that Daimler made a smart decision to roll out a new model of car-sharing.

company was the rst to come up with that innovative one-way concept. That puts them into a leading position for the he says. Knie predicts a fundamental change in how we use cars. In the past, having a certain car was a status symbol. the future, lots of younger people in bigger cities will want to use a car without owning Knie said.

Driven by different goal The target customers for projects like Car2Go are well- educated young professionals with good salaries and a pragmatic approach in terms of individual transportation. people think differently and have other values. Sustainability, environmental protection and, as well, convenience and cost efficiency are more important to than status, Knie said. And Daimler already has another futuristic idea on the table: a virtual agency for arranging short and long- distances rides called based on the experience of Car2Go. This kind of hitchhiking service for the 21st century was launched in Ulm a couple of weeks ago and is designed to attract social media geeks.

Using microblogging services, Daimler matches drivers and passengers, who share not only the same destination but also example the same taste in music. Andreas Grosse Halbuer is a correspondent for Capital, a leading business magazine in Germany. He is in Austin through the Burns Fellowship, a exchange program for journalists. Continued from SHARING: Some driven to try program by cost ciency, environmental issues said. is going to be different than any Walmart seen around Gray said.

Energy-saving features include LED lighting outside and indoor lighting that will turn off automatically when natural light is sufficient. Track lighting above produce displays will run on timers so it be on around the clock, Gray said. The store will have a full line of groceries, with an emphasis on fresh produce and deli items, Gray said. Walmart associates will employ methods that will allow the store to run Gray said. One example: Without a large rear warehouse area, merchandise will go straight from trucks to shelves, which cuts costs and allows merchandise to sell more quickly, he said.

will be ready for the new competition from Walmart, the No. 2 grocer in Central Texas. Sweet said the Allandale is getting extensive face-lift from top to bottom including a new roof, ooring, shelves you name it, replacing it or expanding she said. Sweet said the expanded product offerings will include more organic produce; expanded seafood, beer and wine and floral selections; more natural and organic beef, chicken and pork; an expanded selection of deli meats and imported cheeses; and a larger dairy selection. the No.

3 grocer in the region, also has a store near the new Walmart, about 2 miles away at Mesa Drive and Spicewood Springs Road. The Northcross Walmart generated vocal opposition from some nearby residents when plans were revealed in 2006, and the store was subsequently the subject of two lawsuits. concerns ranged from traf and crime to the size original plans called for one about twice as big and the potential impact on nearby local small businesses. Walmart made a number of concessions, including reducing the store size and agreeing not to keep it open 24 hours a day. The store will be closed from 1 to 5 a.m., and there will be no trucks behind the store from 10 p.m.

to 6 a.m. to reduce noise for neighbors, Gray said. is nothing to fear from this Gray said. is a good neighbor, and if neighbors have any concerns, come see me or call me and we will allay Walmart is an anchor for Northcross Center, which opened in 1975 as Northcross Mall, and had been in decline for years. It recently has undergone a major redevelopment by owner Lincoln Property Group.

445-3856 Continued from COMPETE: Walmart opens soon; expands product erings distribution of scores provided by FICO. because credit remains tight and banks, which have written off billions in bad loans in the past three years, are trying to keep their risks low, so bypassing the diciest borrowers. the housing market continues to improve over the next ve years, then this situation will also Humphries said. For potential borrowers with scores between 620 and 720 about another quarter of U.S. adults the lowest annual interest rate offered by lenders through Zillow.com shows the impact a few credit score points can have: For scores between 620 and 639, the best average annual percentage rate offered was 4.9 percent.

For scores between 640 and 659, the rate was 4.73 percent. For scores between 660 and 679, the rate was 4.6 percent. For scores between 680 and 699, the rate was 4.56 percent. For scores between 700 and 719, the rate was 4.44 per cent. For scores of 720 and above, the rate was 4.3 percent.

That means that for each 20- point score increase, the average rate dropped 0.12 percent. On a $300,000 home with a 20 percent down payment, a 0.12 percent decline equals about $6,400 saved over the course of a 30-year mortgage, according to Zillow. The company looked at 25,000 loan requests and the quotes they garnered from its pool of 1,000 lenders to come up with its data. between 620 and 720, you should be killing yourself to get every point you Humphries said. But if already at 720, the bene ts of improving your score start to dwindle.

There are still incremental rate reductions for borrowers in the higher range, but they see the same drop that improvements lower on the scale can produce. Part of the reason for so little change for the top borrowers is that interest rates are so low overall. not that much room right now between the noted Diane Winland, a nancial planner with Financial Finesse, based in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Another potential factor is that consumers with credit scores tend to be less profitable for banks than consumers with a few dings on their histories, who pay higher rates and often penalties like late fees. Consumers with great scores by and large avoid credit, explained John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for the website Credit.com.

definitely a smalltime user of credit. Which means that not very The current situation means that potential mortgage applicants need to carefully evaluate their current standing and their goals before taking any steps. People with low credit scores should work to improve their credit report before applying. lots of things people can do in a short period of time to go up 10 said Todd Marks, vice president of education at the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas. But someone who already has a relatively high score may not bene enough from an improved score to make delaying a home purchase worthwhile always tell people, get Ulzheimer said.

A rate in the low 4 percent range is still very good by historical standards, he noted. the grand scheme of things, it does not pay to Continued from SCORE: With interest rates so low, borrowers at top see little movement MOND AY DIVIDENDS DE CLARED IRREGULAR Cal-Maine oods .067 10-27 11-11 Te lefonos Mex .1975 12-15 12-23 z- Appr x. amount per ADR or ADS REGULAR Ameriana Bncp .01 10-8 10-29 American Expr ess .18 10-8 11-10 Epiq Sy stem .035 10-28 11-18 Fs Interstate BcSy .1125 10-4 10-15 Fs United Corp .01 10-13 11-1 Gener al Mills .28 10-11 11-1 Ingles Mark ets .165 10-7 10-21 QA Inc .025 11-30 1-10 Te chnitr ol .025 10-1 10-15 Te chnology esear ch .02 9-30 10-15 U-Stor e-It Tr ust .025 10-7 10-22 Wa shington edl .05 10-8 10-22 oodwa rd Go ve rnor .06 11-17 12-1 g- ayable in Canadian funds Pe riod Rate Re co rd Pa y. DIVIDEND CONTACT US For business: 512-445-3835 E-mail: statesman.com Mail: Business Desk P.O. Box 670, Austin TX 78767 to host a for its Downtown Campus Master Plan Saturday, Oct.

2 at 9:30 a.m. Legislative Conference Center Capitol Extension Building Room E2.002A 1100 Congress Ave. Visit www.co.travis.tx.us/facilities/central_campus_study for more information.