Welcome to the major leagues of debt. Collateralized debt obligations, almost always referred to as a CDOs, are horrendously complicated deals that often leave anyone without a MBA wondering what was put into these CDOs.

The first thing to understand about bonds, (aka debt) is that bonds are often backed by something else. Think about your home mortgage. If you don't pay your mortgage, the bank can take the house. You end up homeless, and the bank sells the house to pay off the rest of that mortgage. There is something "backing" that mortgage; something lender can fall back on, if you don't pay your bills like a good human being. That's called collateral.

CDOs are one flavor of an entire sector of investing called structured finance, and they are also backed. CDOs, in the simplest concept, are just bonds backed by something else. In most cases, a CDO is backed by a collection of various types of debt. CDOs can be home mortgages, or other types of debt like credit cards, auto loans, and personal loans. Most of these types of debt are usually considered a bit more risky and they don't have the backing that a home loan does. So, if you think it through, you can imagine that CDOs are usually considered a risky investment.

To take a step further, understand that CDOs have multiple flavors within each CDO. These flavors are called tranches. If you've taken French, you might recognize the word, it means "slice" or "portion." Each slice of that CDO you invest in is a little different and carries different amounts of risk.

You could invest in the lowest risk tranche of the CDO, which would provide you lower risk. But, you don't get a good return on that investment. Or, you can be the heroic adventurer of bonds and invest in the lowest-grade tranche of the CDO. You'll make an amazing return, but if the economy even looks at you wrong, you might lose the entire investment.

CDOs aren¿t easy, and are almost always invested in by mutual funds, insurance companies and hedge funds. As an individual investor, you will probably not come across a CDO you can participate in.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Agilent Technologies Representative Re-elected to PCI-SIG(R) Board of Directors

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jun 24, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that Rick Eads, senior PCI Express(R) program manager in Agilent's Digital Test Division, was re-elected to the PCI-SIG board of directors. The PCI-SIG (originally formed as the Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group) develops and manages the PCI bus specification, the industry standard for a high-performance I/O interconnect for transferring data between central processing units and peripherals. Currently, the PCI-SIG manages the PCI, PCI-X(R) and PCI Express standards.

Eads was first elected to the PCI-SIG board in 2007. Board membership requires yearly ratification via a member-wide election process. Agilent has supported the PCI-SIG and its membership with dedicated test products since the organization's formation in 1992. By providing active leadership to the continued development of the PCI standard, Agilent helps the PCI-SIG shape future test requirements.

"We are very pleased that the PCI-SIG membership has elected Rick to represent Agilent on the board for a second term," said Sigi Gross, general manager of Agilent's Digital Test Division. "PCI Express is an important area for us. Having Rick serve on the board helps the PCI SIG and helps Agilent ensure that the membership has the solutions needed to test PCI Express products under the latest revision of the standard - including PCI Express 3.0."

Eads has 22 years of experience with Hewlett Packard Co. and Agilent Technologies. In addition to his role on the PCI-SIG board of directors, Eads serves as a member of the PCI-SIG Serial Enabling and Electrical working groups, and has authored and contributed to PCI Express test procedures and related collateral.

The PCI-SIG has approved Agilent's DSO80000 and DSO90000 Infiniium oscilloscopes and E2960 Series protocol analysis tools for official compliance testing for both the PCI Express 1.0/1.1 and 2.0 standards.

The PCI-SIG continues to evolve the PCI standard to meet the industry's needs. Through interoperability testing, technical support, seminars and industry events, the PCI-SIG enables its members to generate competitive and quality products. For additional information on the PCI-SIG and its specifications, go to www.pcisig.com.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $5.4 billion in fiscal 2007. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

PCI Express, PCI-X and PCI-SIG are registered trademarks of the PCI-SIG.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Further technology, corporate citizenship and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news.

SOURCE: Agilent Technologies Inc.

Agilent Janet Smith, +1 970-679-5397
   janet_smith@agilent.com or Weber Shandwick, for Agilent Johanna Vallecillo, +1 408-685-0615 jvallecillo@webershandwick.com

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