European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 stars and stripes Friday april 27 2007 your Money dont get too stuck on Oil filter Magnet dear Tom and Ray i recently saw a car Catalon that had an Oil filter Magnet for Sale the Magnet was placed on the Bottom of an Oil Fil ter and was Strong enough to remove any Metal shavings from the Oil Stream is this product worthwhile or am i just wasting my Money Ron Tom these things have been around for years Ron they certainly dont do any harm Ray they sell magnets that go inside the Oil pan mag nets that Are built into the Oil plug and magnets like this attach to the filter Tom now Click and Clack Tom and Ray Magliozzi keep in mind that the Oil filter itself already removes any Metal shavings or anything else that bigger than about 25 microns or about half the Width of a human hair so they do a pretty Good Job Ray does stuff that s smaller than that stuff that gets through the filter harm your engine probably at least a Little but with the Magnet youll Only get the metallic stuff that sneaks by the filter you wont catch any spot or pieces of aluminium which Are also harmful Tom if a Magnet really made engines last longer dont you think that pm and Ford would already have spent the three cents per car it would take to build one into the Oil plug Ray so id have to say that Oil filter magnets fall into the general category of overkill Tom but if youre the kind of Guy who believes in Over kill Ron then go for it do you Wear a surgical mask on an air plane do you go Back and double Check to make sure youve turned off the stove before you leave the House do you have your brother taste your food before you eat it if so you should get one of these magnets Ron Ray in fact you should get two in Case one Falls off Tom seriously it certainly cant Hurt anything and if s possible that theres some Small Benefit but in the big scheme of things its not High on the priorities list changing your Oil regularly will probably extend the life of your engine More than any Magnet got a question about cars write to Click and Clack in care of this newspaper or email them by visiting the car talk web site at  existing Home sales Tumble by Anne Dinnocenzio the associated press new Economy provided a sobering reminder tuesday that Consumers Are jittery and the housing Market is still a major Cloud Over growth in february us Home prices fell their steepest in almost 15 years sales of existing Homes plunged in March by the largest amount in nearly two decades and consumer Confidence in april crumbled to its lowest since August it was a hat trick of bad economic data that analysts said would trap the Federal Reserve Between inflation pressures and tepid growth the fed is still talking Tough on inflation but i think they Are watch ing the slowdown in the Economy they would not want to raise rates if the Economy remains weak said Gary Thayer chief economist at a Edwards sons inc the poor economic data also offset the positive feeling investors were getting about Betterto unexpected first quarterly reports from the likes of International business machines corp and Dupont co the National association of real tors reported tuesday that sales of existing Homes plunged in March reflecting bad weather and increasing problems from Loans to people with poor credit the group said that sales of existing Homes fell by 84 percent in March compared with february it marked the biggest on month decline since a 126 per cent drop in january 1989 also on tuesday a housing Index released by Standard poor showed that us Home prices fell 15 percent in february from a year ago the steepest decline in nearly 15 years Michael realtor John Schwagerl Waits for prospective buyers during an open House tuesday in Somerville mass sales of existing Homes plunged in March by the largest amount in nearly two decades such erosion in Confidence is occurring amid what is turning out to be a disappointing Spring Selling sea son for Many merchants after robust sales in March helped by an Early easter there Are signs that Consumers Are already spending less Walmart stores inc whose customers Cut Back on shop Ping when Gas prices were High last year said earlier this month that aprils Selling environment will be Tough target corp said late Mon Day that its april sales were coming in much weaker than expected Consumers particularly those with limited incomes feel the Impact of rising gasoline prices immediately but economists believe the housing Market is a bigger concern appreciating Home values made Consumers feel wealthier and had been the source of extra Cash in re cent years As shoppers tapped into their Home equity through refinancing now that extra source of Cash is depleting the National association of realtors reported tuesday an eighth straight fall in median Home prices Market summary 52week High Low name last net chg Ltd chg chg 52wk chg 1298986 1068332 Dow Jones industrials 1308989 524245 413472 Dow Jones transportation 524360 52738 389 to Dow Jones utilities 53108 969860 770811 nose composite 974657 224247 180065 amex Index 221711 253224 201278 Nash a composite 254789 148732 121929 149542 88325 71053 88800 83171 66858 russel2000 83207 1504276 1224990 do Wilshire 5000 1511041 most Active or More name vol 00 last chg Pfizer Gerbec Motorola Corning and Taj Semi pm cup Hal Lintn s Bao Nobl West Elln n 523079 448084 447625 420890 376190 277106 272388 268782 250483 249600 2632 3541 1791 2458 1465 1095 1574 3154 7992 2159 134 most Active name vol 00 or More last chg Spur 1003844 bhr2k nya 492935 up engy 285194 Semi her 184508 Prusha Rqn 152998 spend 149217 oils vat 113058 do Madiam 111774 Crystallo g 69185 on2tech 60859 14948 8253 6416 3770 4813 374 15710 13062 334 232 132 16 most Active or More name last chg Sun Micro 3143857 Amazon 968457 push Sqq 942468 Sirius 713480 Intel Cisco 623358 440975 Microsoft 370250 Yahoo 345944 Jet Blue 319675 leve3 313192 527 5681 4631 283 2226 2678 2859 2806 1031 618 67 40 t stocks Armor computer general general Harris Allied l3 Lockheed Rockwell Texas text Ron United name Nav Ltd chg ret Fidelity invest Greco 7332 Fidelity invest Grolnic 3262 Fidelity spartan eld Xiv 5294 Putnam funds a Erlna p 2100 Amer Century inv Ultra 2846 Fidelity invest Amorso 1582 Fidelity invest Oversea 4941 Fidelity invest us 1091 aim investments a const p 2805 fms a Sec Para 4199 aim investments a Charta p 1654 2295 Fidelity advisor t Seq let 3176 Fidelity advisor t Groppo 3816 Putnam funds a Gibbs to p 1209 6765 Fidelity advisor 2447  1853 1268 Putnam funds a gig a p 1231 02 01 Exchange rates military rates euro costs april Dollar buys april British Pound april japanese yen april South korean won april commercial rates Bahrain British Pound Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan yen 11929 Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Riyal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for Japan South Korea Germany the Netherlands and the United kingdom for no local currency Exchange rates in purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing facility commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying currency All figures Are foreign currencies to one Dollar except for the British Pound which is represented in  and the euro which is dollars Teuro new York merc close Gold interest rates prime rate discount rate Federal funds Market rate 3month Bill 30year Bond 625 525 497 484 sources the associated press Bank of America tits and sensibility Money tip of shop around for planner by Marshall Loeb Marke Waich new York when planning your estate if s Wise to seek the help of an expert such As an attorney accountant financial planner or document preparer choosing the right one for you is essential Melanie Cullen author of get it together organize your records so your family wont have to says that if s important to find a person who is both knowledgeable in the Field and also easy to develop a Good working relationship with follow these Steps to find a Good match ask people in your network Start with friends family coworkers and acquaintances for recommendations word of Mouth is still one of the most reliable ways to get a Good referral talk to other professionals need a financial planner talk to your attorney seek out help from other professionals you respect and work Well with they May know a trustworthy source and understand the Type of person youre looking for b get advice from business managers if you know someone who runs a business and you respect that look for a referral there business owners usually have lots of contacts for such profession als because they work with them regularly once youve found someone to meet with for an initial Consulta Tion be prepared write Down specific questions and do your research ahead of time have an idea also of the Type of help you need if your initial meeting does not go Well or dont get the answers you need say thank you and try someone else writes Cullen