The maximum potential amount of future fundings for guarantees where we are the primary obligor and the carrying amount of the liability for expected future fundings at year-end 2007 are as follows:

Our guarantees of $315 million listed in the preceding table include $41 million of operating profit guarantees that will not be in effect until the underlying properties open and we begin to operate the properties.

The guarantees of $315 million in the preceding table do not include $245 million of guarantees that expire in the years 2011 through 2013, related to Senior Living Services lease obligations and lifecare bonds for which we are secondarily liable. Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. ("Sunrise") is the primary obligor of the leases and a portion of the lifecare bonds, and CNL Retirement Properties, Inc. ("CNL"), which subsequently merged with Health Care Property Investors, Inc., is the primary obligor of the remainder of the lifecare bonds. Prior to our sale of the Senior Living Services business in 2003, these preexisting guarantees were guarantees by us of obligations of consolidated Senior Living Services subsidiaries. Sunrise and CNL have indemnified us for any guarantee fundings we may be called on to make in connection with these lease obligations and lifecare bonds. We do not expect to fund under the guarantees.

The table also does not include lease obligations for which we became secondarily liable when we acquired the Renaissance Hotel Group N.V. in 1997, consisting of annual rent payments of approximately $7 million and total remaining rent payments through the initial term of approximately $77 million. Most of these obligations expire at the end of the 2023 calendar year. CTF had originally made available €35 million in cash collateral in the event that we are required to fund under such guarantees (approximately €7 million [$11 million] remained at year-end 2007). As CTF obtains releases from the landlords and these hotels exit the system, our contingent liability exposure of approximately $77 million will decline. Since the time we assumed these guarantees, we have not funded any amounts and we do not expect to fund any amounts under these guarantees in the future.

Furthermore, in addition to the guarantees noted in the preceding table, we have provided a project completion guarantee to a lender for a project with an estimated aggregate total cost of $586 million. Payments for cost overruns for this project will be satisfied by the joint venture via contributions from the partners, and we are liable on a several basis with our partners in an amount equal to our pro rata ownership in the joint venture, which is 34 percent. We do not expect to fund under the guarantee. We have also provided a project completion guarantee to another lender for a project with an estimated aggregate total cost of $80 million. Payments for cost overruns for this project will be satisfied by the joint venture via contributions from the partners, and we are liable on a several basis with our partners in an amount equal to our pro rata ownership in the joint venture, which is 25 percent. We do not expect to fund under this guarantee. The carrying value of the liabilities associated with these two project completion guarantees is $7 million.

In addition to the guarantees described in the preceding paragraphs, in conjunction with financing obtained for specific projects or properties owned by joint ventures in which we are a party, we may provide industry standard indemnifications to the lender for loss, liability, or damage occurring as a result of the actions of the other joint venture owner or our own actions.

Commitments and Letters of Credit
In addition to the guarantees noted previously, as of year-end 2007, we had extended approximately $4 million of loan commitments to owners of lodging properties, under which we expect to fund approximately $2 million within one year. We do not expect to fund the remaining $2 million of commitments, which expire after five years.

At year-end 2007, we also have commitments to invest up to $44 million of equity for minority interests in partnerships that plan to purchase North American full-service and limited-service properties or purchase or develop hotel anchored mixed-use real estate projects, which expire as follows: $14 million in one to two years; and $30 million in three to five years. As of year-end 2007, we also have a commitment to invest up to $25 million in a joint venture of which we have funded $12 million and have $13 million remaining that we expect to fund within one year. As of year-end 2007, we also had a commitment to invest up to $29 million (€20 million) in a joint venture in which we are an investor. We currently do not expect to fund under this commitment.

At year-end 2007, we had $96 million of letters of credit outstanding on our behalf, the majority of which related to our self-insurance programs. Surety bonds issued on our behalf at year-end 2007, totaled $468 million, the majority of which were requested by federal, state or local governments related to our lodging operations, including our Timeshare segment and self-insurance programs.

Synthetic Fuel
The tax credits available under the Internal Revenue Code for the production and sale of synthetic fuels were established by Congress to encourage the development of alternative domestic energy sources. Congress deemed that the incentives provided by the tax credits would not be necessary if the price of oil increased beyond certain thresholds as prices would then provide a more natural market for these alternative fuels. As a result, the tax credits available under the Internal Revenue Code for the production and sale of synthetic fuel in any given calendar year are phased out if the Reference Price of a barrel of oil for that year falls within a specified range. The Reference Price of a barrel of oil is an estimate of the annual average wellhead price per barrel of domestic crude oil and is determined for each calendar year by the Secretary of the Treasury by April 1 of the following year. In 2005 and 2006, the Reference Price was roughly equal to 89 percent and 90 percent, respectively, of the average price in those years of the benchmark NYMEX futures contract for a barrel of light, sweet crude oil. The price range within which the credit is phased out was set in 1980 and is adjusted annually for inflation. In 2006, the Reference Price phase-out range was $55.06 to $69.12. Because the Reference Price of a barrel of oil for 2006 was within that range, at $59.68, there was a 33 percent reduction of the tax credits available for synthetic fuel produced and sold in 2006.

Assuming a 2.5 percent inflation adjustment factor for 2007, and assuming the ratio of the Reference Price to the average price of the benchmark NYMEX futures contract remains the same for November and December 2007 as it has been in the five preceding months, we currently estimate that the tax credits available for production and sale of synthetic fuel in 2007 would begin to be phased out if the average price of the benchmark NYMEX futures contract in 2007 exceeds approximately $62 and would be fully phased out if the average price of the benchmark NYMEX futures contract in 2007 exceeds approximately $78. For the year ended December 28, 2007, our results reflect a provision for an estimated 70.71 percent tax credit phase-out as a result of high oil prices. The average price of the benchmark NYMEX futures contract for 2007, through December 31, 2007, was approximately $72.41.

Late in 2006 and early in 2007, we entered into hedge agreements to minimize operating losses that could occur if more than a majority of the tax credits is phased out in 2007.

See Footnote No. 2, "Discontinued Operations," earlier in this report, for additional information related to the synthetic fuel operations, including information related to the cessation of synthetic fuel production permanently in November 2007.

Investment in Leveraged Lease
Historically, we had a $23 million investment in an aircraft leveraged lease with Delta Air Lines, Inc. ("Delta") which we acquired in 1994. The gross investment was comprised of rentals receivable and the residual value of the aircraft offset by unearned income. On September 14, 2005, Delta filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and informed us that it wished to restructure the lease. As a result, our investment was impaired and we had recorded pretax charges of approximately $18 million through 2006. We recorded an additional $5 million loss related to this investment in fiscal 2007. We have no remaining exposure related to this historical investment.

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