CARS: By 2020, there will be a billion cars on the road. I intend to be senile then and will drive at 20 MPH in the fast lane and drive people nuts. So there.

TRUE ENOUGH: (AARP) Why don't more Americans buy long term care insurance? Decision paralysis. People throw up their hands and do nothing when faced with complexity that confounds even the experts: myriad policy choices from dozens of carriers that use different terms and definitions; regulations that vary from state to state; and price quotes that map poorly to benefit amounts, waiting periods, deductibles, duration of benefits, possible rate hikes, and inflation protection. I doubt very few purchasers have any clear understating of what they are purchasing. These are tough contracts

Bryan/College Station's worst disaster occurred when a small two-seater Cessna 150 plane, piloted by two Texas A&M students, crashed into a cemetery earlier today. Search and Rescue workers have recovered 300 bodies so far and expect the number to climb as digging continues into the evening. The pilot and copilot survived and are helping in the rescue efforts.

ETF: At last count, Morningstar listed 253 Exchange Traded Funds trading on exchanges, compared to 152 the year before. New specialized ETFs are being created every week.

WHAT'S A FEW MILLION: Waddell and Reed agreed to pay $50 million to settle New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's investigation into improper trading.

Spitzer said he found secret agreements were made with mutual fund timers in which Waddell & Reed received extra fees for the trading advantage over most investors. Spitzer said the company's senior management knew about the practice that hurt smaller investors and the prospectus created the "false impression" that the company was combatting the improper trading.

Frankly, this type of ethical “lapse” is predominant in our society whenever money is involved.

A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: A bargain since the penney costs 1.4 CENTS - The cost of the metals in the penny has risen above 0.8 cents, more than twice just 6 months ago. Add another 0.6 cents that it costs the government to produce it and the government is losing money minting pennies. Not sure what this means, but there could be a problem if the price of the metals rises so high that it would be economical to melt down pennies for the metals they contain. Most of a penny is zinc with just a thin coat of copper, but the price of zinc has tripled since 2003.

MOVING AWAY: Of the 25 largest metro areas, the New York region lost the most people, with an average annual net outflow of 211,014 residents from 2000 through 2004. That calculates to an average loss of 11.4 people per thousand per year. The median house price in the New York area last year was $427,600, about twice the national median.

Los Angeles, where home prices averaged $568,400, had a net domestic outflow of 117,780 during the same period, 9.3 per thousand a year. The net out-migration from the San Francisco metro area ($718,700) was even stronger, averaging 14.7 per year for a total of 60,984.

Many Angelenos relocated to the "Inland Empire" of Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, about an hour-plus east of LA. Housing prices there were a big draw; the median home cost $392,300, nearly $175,000 less than LA. That helped the area record a net influx of 81,460 people, for an average annual rate of 23 per thousand. The Riverside metro area was the No. 1 gainer in the U.S., both in total numbers and in rate and is now the 13th most populous in the United States, surpassing such better-known metro areas as St. Louis, Cleveland(?) and San Diego.

Other areas fattening up on domestic migrants include Phoenix, where the median house cost $268,400, with a gain 48,598, Tampa ($223,000) at plus 36,395 residents and Atlanta ($170,200) with an influx of 31,026. Only seven of the top 25 largest metro areas were net winners; 18 had a net outflow of domestic residents.

Among the states, New York had the highest out-migration – 182,886 – and its average per thousand of 9.6 trailed only the District of Columbia, which averaged 18.1.

THE BOSS: 16 former KPMG employees, and an outside lawyer and an investment adviser, face trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan on conspiracy and fraud charges in creating and selling four types of tax shelters, including three viewed by the I.R.S. as close cousins to Son of Boss.

The government contends in court papers that Son of Boss lacked economic substance and business purpose, and was "a sham formed for the sole purpose of generating artificial losses." Those are three I.R.S. definitions of tax shelters that are abusive.

The term Son of Boss refers to a variety of aggressive tax shelters that closely resemble each other and that are variously known as flip, opisblips and mld, or market-linked deposits

STATE PENSION FLAWS: Their costs to provide health care to retired state employees may dwarf what they pay in retirement benefits. Adding to the concern is the fact that it can be difficult for states to cut health and/or pension benefits. Such changes frequently require a change in state law.

This will be on a ballot soon in almost all states or they will face bankruptcy between 2025 and 2050. You have no idea how severe this problem is.

ANNUITIES: NASD is proposing to extend its proposed mutual fund point-of-sale disclosure form to other securities and, in some form, to "all types of annuities." The disclosure proposal form is referred to as "Profile Plus." The also voiced concerns about the complexity of equity-indexed annuities..."Frankly, the challenges of adequately disclosing to a potential customer the material features of an equity-indexed annuity are daunting, to put it mildly."

I defy anyone to figure out what these products will do. I am not saying that they will not produce a return- but anyone will be hard pressed to figure out what was going on when and why.

In short, an index annuity should simply be compared to a regular fixed annuity. In about 60% to 75% of the time, an index annuity will beat a fixed rate; in 15% to 25% of the time, they will do no better; and in about 5% to 10% of the time, they will do worse than a fixed rate.

Product pushers try to tell you you are going to get a huge return. Ain’t gonna happen. And you have surrender charges and a host of other fees. They can work but not in the manner and amount marketed.

DYING: Six months after the deaths of spouses, almost half of those studied showed few symptoms of grief.

In the past, mental-health professionals often suspected people who show little grief are "either in denial, emotionally distant, or lacked a close attachment to their spouses. But the study found that older widows and widowers tend to view death as fair, and a natural part of life.

Losing someone later rather than earlier in life tends to lead to a far-shorter period of mourning. "Many older couples have achieved all they hoped to do together. They've seen children and grandchildren thrive in adulthood. They think, 'OK, now I can die.' " Each year, about 650,000 Americans over 65 lose spouses. Just 16% of surviving spouses in the study showed signs of "chronic grief" -- including high levels of depression -- 18 months after their loss.

IDIOTS: A study by Financial Research indicates that over 17% of retirees who own annuities are not quite sure why they do.

And 99 44/100% of the others cannot tell you what they are getting as a return. You have to have a financial calculator, estimate life expectancy, plug in the payment and solve for “i”. Understand all that? Well, neither does your agent. Hence the reason these are sold improperly

PETS AT RISK: Several states are moving to protect pets in families ripped apart by domestic violence.

Maine, Vermont and New York have passed laws this year that allow judges to include pets in protective orders. Illinois and New Jersey legislators are considering similar measures, and animal welfare advocates in other states, including California, are urging action.

TOO BIG TO IGNORE: The rising prevalence of obesity runs counter to the overall decline in mortality rates seen in most developed nations over the past few decades. The possibility that the rate of mortality improvement could have been higher without the increase in obesity is too significant to ignore. The question is, can we gain back this lost mortality improvement?

Like the health effects on smoking, obesity usually stems from a choice about lifestyle. The fact that so many public spaces are now 'tobacco-free' zones is the result of education, persuasion and - in many cases - tough action. Tackling obesity likewise calls for a combined and determined effort from all parties: governments, the medical profession, food manufacturers and consumers need to be alert to this emerging risk and to play a role in confronting it. For life insurers - who are not immune to the effects of obesity - addressing the problem means keeping ratings and pricing up to date and in line with emerging experience.

Over the last 30 years or so, the prevalence of obesity has increased two to threefold in most developed countries. It affects nearly one in every three people in the United States, where it is expected to overtake smoking as the leading cause of preventable death. The epidemic is no longer confined to developed countries: in the developing world the prevalence is around 5%, and this is expected to increase in the future.

In adults, the prevalence of obesity is more acute in women than in men, and it is becoming more common in children and adolescents. If this trend is left unchecked, it will have negative consequences for adult health and mortality in the future. The problem is also more widespread amongst the lower socio-economic groups in the developed world.

MY GOD, NOT ANOTHER DESIGNATION!!!: Now available through the Association of Insurance & Financial Specialists, you can earn the designation of "Certified EIA Specialist". This educational, non-sales course teaches you all the inner working of the EIA and how to analyze and present them properly. (What a crock!)

WHO ARE THE TRUSTWORTHY, WE THINK? Trust between people is important for how well the society is functioning in many different ways. From an individual point of view, however, it is less clear that increased trust is beneficial, since it depends on whether others will exploit the vulnerability that is associated with trusting someone. On the other hand, it is always beneficial for an individual to be perceived trustworthy, whether he actually is trustworthy or not.

Moreover, and more fundamentally, what we are interested in here is not trust but perceived trustworthiness. The distinction is important since I may trust another person because I believe that he or she (e.g. ones spouse or close friend) will behave particularly trustworthy towards me. A Hells Angels member Adam may trust another member Bill more than he trusts Carl who is not a member, but at the same time realize that Bill is generally less trustworthy than Carl.

Is it true that we consider people that are more similar to ourselves to be more trustworthy, ceteris paribus? The answer from this study is Yes.

INSURANCE NOT ON AFFLUENT RADAR – (Spectrem Group) When asked what service wealthy consumers want from their primary financial firm, most answer "investment advice." A study of affluent and wealthy consumers who have at least $500,000 in investable assets ranked "brokerage services" number two with "insurance services such as life insurance and property casualty insurance" next to last, followed only by "charitable giving advice." The study also revealed that most were reluctant do "one stop shopping," while 34% were already using just one financial services firm.

PRUDENT MAN??: (Barry Flagg) Under Section 1 of the Act, the prudent investor rule is a “default rule,” which may be expanded, restricted or eliminated by the trust terms, but which must be followed if not overridden. Section 2 sets forth the trustee’s standard of care: a trustee “shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust.” In other words, a single investment approach for all trusts is inappropriate. Investments are judged, under Section 2(b), in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole and as a part of an overall strategy, after evaluating risk and return objectives. So, as the comments to that section point out, a trust “whose main purpose is to support an elderly widow of modest means will have a lower risk tolerance than a trust to accumulate for a young scion of great wealth.” Section 2(c) lists some circumstances a trustee take into account when developing an investment strategy: general economic conditions, inflation, expected tax consequences, the beneficiaries’ other resources, beneficiary needs for liquidity and an asset’s special relationship or special value, if any, to the trust purposes. Finally, Section 2(f) states that a trustee with special skills or expertise has a duty to use them.

Section 3 requires a trustee to diversify trust investments unless, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying, such as holding an undiversified block of low-basis securities with built-in gain or retaining a family business. Under Section 4, a trustee must, within a reasonable time after accepting the trusteeship, review the trust assets and decide whether they are appropriate investments in light of the factors just discussed. In other words, a trustee cannot simply rely on the fact that a predecessor held these assets, even if the predecessor was the grantor.

Sections 5 and 6 set out the trustee’s duties of loyalty to and impartiality among the beneficiaries. Section 7 states that a trustee may only incur costs in investing and managing trust assets that are appropriate and reasonable. Section 8 provides that compliance with the prudent investor rule “is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee’s decision or action and not by hindsight.”

As the comments point out, “[t]rustees are not insurers. Not every investment or management decision will turn out in the light of hindsight to have been successful.

Section 9 provides that a trustee who properly delegates investment and management functions is not liable for the decisions or actions of the agent to whom the function was delegated. This section reverses the former trust law that imposed a rule of non-delegation, and “is designed to strike the appropriate balance between the advantages and the hazards of delegation.” Further, “the trustee must balance the projected benefits against the likely costs” of delegation, and “take costs into account.” So, for example, if a trustee’s regular compensation schedule assumes that the trustee will manage investments, “it should ordinarily follow that the trustee will lower its fee when delegating the investment function to an outside manager.”

A waiter comes over to a table full of Jewish women and asks, "Is anything all right?"

LTC: A Mutual of Omaha survey reveals that about 41% of LTC insurance purchasers say their main motivation for buying coverage is to avoid being a burden on their family. Additionally, 65% of the survey participants had talked about LTC coverage with family members, and 53% said family members were involved in their decisions to buy.

Sounds nice but hardly anyone is buying a policy- too tough to understand and most feel too expensive.

JUST ONE OF THE MANY THAT WILL DO THIS: DuPont announced that it will sharply reduce benefits from its traditional pension and launch a series of initiatives to increase participation in its 401(k) plan, including automatic enrollment of new employees after Jan. 1.

Will 401(k)s work? No. The reason is that a defined benefit plan had nothing to do with statistics and the loss of value due to bad markets. But under a 401(k), the employee is absolutely subject to the volatilities which are not even taught to brokers and planners. Hence their retirements are almost vanquished as soon as they start.

Up to a third of workers don't participate in their company's 401(k)s. Of those who do, up to half save too little to receive the full company match.

The low savings rate jeopardizes millions of Americans' retirement security. A study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that nearly 45% of households are at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement.

What factors determine how well consumers make their actual choices with regard to financial products? This paper empirically evaluates two different choices consumers make when buying deferred annuities. One choice concerns the type of insurance policy, the other concerns the choice of insurance provider. For both choices we will analyse what factors explain the quality of the choice made. In particular, we will investigate the role of financial advice in the decision making process. By combining Dutch consumer survey data and data on quotations by Dutch life insurance companies, we obtain the following results. First, respondents who buy their policy directly from an insurer attain a significantly better match between their risk preferences and the type of policy chosen than respondents who purchase their policy through an insurance broker. Second, respondents who buy their policy through an insurance broker obtain a significantly lower pay-out than respondents who purchased their policy directly from an insurance company. These results raise doubts about the functioning of both the market for financial advice and the market for life insurances.

Commission awareness – i.e. knowing that financial advisors are being paid on the basis of commission - is a significant determinant of the choice of distribution channel: the higher the level of commission awareness, the lower the probability of using an insurance advisor. Second, stated risk aversion is found to be a significant determinant of product choice in the case of direct purchase: the higher the level of risk aversion, the higher the probability of purchasing a safe product.

A well functioning retail market for financial products requires, inter alia, that consumers can find the product that matches their preferences at the lowest possible price. Financial products, and in particular life insurance products, are generally considered to be complex. Searching and comparing financial products can therefore be difficult and time consuming. For this reason, many people rely on financial advisors to help them choose the right products. However, the market for financial advice may not function properly. In particular, due to the incentive structure in his market (commissions paid by insurers) coupled with the infrequent purchase of these products and the lack of sufficient expertise by consumers, financial advise may be biased. This bias may take several forms. First, if advisors earn more on certain types of products than on other types of products, this may give rise to biased choice of product type. Second, if advisors earn more on products from firm A than on products from firm B (within a given type of product), then this may lead to a bias in the firm choice.

My comment- don’t buy insurance from an insurance agent. What do you expect to happen? Find those very few with advanced knowledge and education. Admittedly not perfect but the odds for success are far, far greater.

401K: Most participants in 401(k) plans sponsored by John Hancock Retirement Plan Services say they feel unqualified to choose their own investments. 69% believe they don’t know enough about investing, and 67% said their concern about market volatility is an obstacle to their own investing.

At least they admit it. The problem is that the industry is about as dismal. 100% say they know about investing but you will find that 90%+ do not know diversification. And about 99% do not know how to address risk. Neither are taught nor required for licensing of planning/investment work.

PH LEVEL: One-third of China's vast landmass is suffering from acid rain caused by its rapid industrial growth, while local leaders are failing to enforce environmental standards for fear of hurting business. China's factories spewed out 25.5 million tons of sulphur dioxide — the chemical that causes acid rain — last year, up 27% from 2000

Chinese cities are among the world's smoggiest following two decades of breakneck economic growth. The government says all of China's major rivers are dangerously polluted. Millions of people lack access to clean drinking water.

All that said, the activity in China will not stop. There will be some slowdowns every so often, but it is like our country almost a century ago. We polluted everything, killed man and beast indiscriminately. And we kept on growing at a fantastic pace. That’s where China- and India- no are in their development.

BUT THEY DID NOT HAVE TO ADMIT ANY WRONGDOING: Renowned money manager Mario Gabelli and 38 affiliated entities will pay $130 million to settle federal civil charges that they fraudulently won Federal Communications Commission auctions of wireless spectrum licenses used for cellphones.

Charged fees and expenses to the Plans that were, or are, unreasonable and/or not incurred solely for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries of the Plans;

Caused the Plans to enter into agreements with third parties which caused and/or allowed the Plans to pay fees and expenses that were, or are, unreasonable and/or not incurred solely for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries of the Plans;

Failed to monitor the fees and expenses paid by the Plans and, by such failure, caused or allowed the Plans to pay fees and expenses that were, or are, unreasonable and/or not incurred solely for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries of the Plans;

Failed to inform themselves of, and understand, the various methods by which vendors in the 401k retirement industry collect payments and other revenues from 401k plans;

Failed to establish, implement, and follow procedures to properly and prudently determine whether the fees and expenses paid by the Plans were reasonable and incurred solely for the benefit of the participants and beneficiaries of the Plans;

Failed properly to inform and/or disclose to participants and beneficiaries of the Plans the fees and expenses that at or have been, paid by the Plans;

Failed to inform and/or disclose to participants and beneficiaries of the Plans in proper detail and clarity the transaction fees and expenses which affect participants' accounts balances in connection with the purchase or sale of interests in investment alternatives;

Breached their fiduciary duties by failing to disclose that hidden and excessive fees were and are being assessed against assets of the Plans and by failing to stop such hidden excessive fees;

Appointed as fiduciaries persons who did not fulfill their fiduciary duties, failed to monitor and/or oversee the performance of those fiduciaries and to ensure that they were fulfilling those duties, and failed to terminate the fiduciaries I appointment after breaches occurred;

In charging, causing to be charged or paid, and failing to monitor the fees and expenses of the Plans, failed to exercise the care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent person would when acting in like capacity and familiar with such matters;

Caused and/or allowed fees and expenses to be paid by the Plans for purposes other than those allowed by ERISA;

By the conduct above and/or by other conduct set forth in this Complaint, revealed in discovery and/or proven at trial, breached their fiduciary and other ERISA-imposed obligations to the Plans, participants and beneficiaries of the Plans, and members of the classes;

Are liable to the Plans and the Classes for losses suffered as a result of the breaches of their fiduciary duties and other ERISA-imposed obligations; and

Are responsible to account for the assets and transactions of the Plans and should be charged for any transactions and payments for which they cannot account.”

My comment- Notice there is still nothing about the allocations suggested or inferred by the firms. Admittedly, older plans provided no assistance. Newer plans, however, fail to provide the correct elements of risk and therefore breach their fiduciary duties as well.

Mississippi continued to lead the way. An estimated 29.5% of adults there are considered obese. That's an increase of 1.1 percentage points when compared with last year's report,

Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Kentucky — exhibit much higher rates of poverty than the national norm.

Meanwhile, the five states with the lowest obesity have less poverty. They are Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The government equates obesity with a body mass index, or BMI, of at least 30. Someone who is 5-feet-4 would have to weigh 175 pounds to reach that threshold.

recommendations that people eat well and exercise are known to Americans. And clearly, many just don't care to follow.

$5.6 billion could be saved when it comes to treating heart disease if just one-tenth of Americans began a regular walking program.

DIVERSIFICATION: I had a conversation with a planner who became a CFP in 2004. We discussed the CFP exam preparation. Diversification was not taught. Hence it simply validates my comments from years ago to present- lack of knowledge.

If you do not know diversification by the numbers, you cannot determine risk. If you cannot determine risk, you cannot determine suitability.

Long time readers should know it is NOT the sophomoric “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

WOMEN: Most U.S. women do not feel very financially secure and many have a secret stash of money hidden away.

Half of the women surveyed said they worry about losing all their money and becoming destitute, including half of those who earn $100,000 a year or more.

Ninety percent of women said they feel only somewhat or not at all financially secure. That figure included 33 percent who said they do not feel at all financially secure.

Women are twice as likely as men -- 18 percent to 9 percent -- to have a secret stash of money that their spouses or partners don't know about.

"For the very first time, a mass generation of women is now beginning to realize that taking action and taking responsibility for their long-term financial well-being is going to fall on their shoulders, and they're concerned and they're worried,"

DIFFERENCE IN AGES: Only 31 percent of Generation Y workers (those age 18 to 25) eligible to participate in a tax-deferred 401(k) retirement plan are doing so. By comparison, 63 percent of eligible Generation X workers (those age 26 to 41) are using these plans, while 72 percent of baby boomers (age 42 to 59) are doing so.

what's unsettling is that even though most young workers realize that they're on their own when it comes to saving for retirement, many of those investing in 401(k)'s haven't a clue how to allocate their funds. The average Gen Y worker puts about 35 cents of every investment dollar into fixed-income options like bond funds and so-called stable-value funds, which are bond-like vehicles. This means the youngest workers are investing even more conservatively than their parents, who on average keep only 31.4 percent of their 401(k) money in bonds.

MERRILL AND ENRON: - Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay Enron $29.5 million to settle lawsuits related to its role in the scandal. The litigation is one of the first against several financial institutions regarding actions taken during the energy company's demise. Merrill also agreed to give up $73.7 million in claims against Enron.

AND MORE FINES: WACHOVIA TO PAY $25 MILLION – Wachovia has joined with 12 other financial institutions that have paid about $1.4 billion to settle charges that their research analysts issued biased reports to boost business. The deal involves regulators in all 50 states and will cost Wachovia $25 million.

ANNUITY AWARENESS LOW – A Guardian Life study indicates that baby boomers might be more inclined to buy annuities if they knew more about them. Baby boomers ages 50 to 59 were surveyed and only 14% owned annuities and half of the participants without annuities said they did not know enough about annuities to consider purchasing.

LIFETIMES: Nonsmoking 75-year-old males in 2002 were like 68-year-olds in 1982, like 62-year-olds in 1950 and like 59-year-olds in 1908.

DIFFERENT SOCIETY: (USA) "It's almost as if raising children, which used to become the common lot of most adults, now has become more of a niche in your life rather than one of the main features of adult life," she says.

In 1970, for example, 73.6% of women ages 25-29 had at least one minor child at home; 30 years later, 48.7% did.

In 1990, the most common household type was married couples with children. Now, single, childless households are the most prevalent.

And today, more women in their 40s are childless, the report says. One in 10 were childless in 1976; in 2004, it was about one of five."

I have no children- but that has to do more with the fact that women run from me. And the Humane Society got a court order keeping me away from ALL mammals for fear of cross breeding. Life is not fair.

401(K) ADVICE JUST WON'T WORK: (NY Times) That’s because a vast majority of 401(k) investors who are offered advice — regarding how to allocate their portfolios between stocks and bonds, and which funds to choose among their investment options — don’t take it.

A recent survey of 401(k) plans by Deloitte Consulting found that only 17 percent of participants who were offered advice by their plans had asked for it. Of that group, only 39 percent acted on the recommendations they received. In other words, less than 7 percent of 401(k) investors who had access to advice used it to manage their accounts.

The day you discover your child has cancer, your whole life changes. No matter what the outcome may be, you are now living on an emotional roller coaster.

When my son was first diagnosed, he was scared and angry, and he was embarrassed to lose his hair. The fact remained that although he was now a cancer patient, he was still a 14-year-old teenager with all the typical emotions, feelings and concerns. For me, becoming a caregiver and being a single mother at the same time, meant I had to find new skills to cope with this dreadful disease. I have included some of them here:

Trust: Choose a doctor, who is not only qualified, but one who is able to speak comfortably with you and your child. Make sure she takes the time to answer your questions and those of your child.

Communication: Be open and honest with your child and, as much as possible, include him in discussions concerning the treatment. Listen with your heart.

Understanding: Know that your child may take out most of her anger towards you. After all, you are the one who will continue to love her no matter what. Be firm, but loving.

Support: Find a support group for parents where you can discuss your fears and concerns. It is very hard for family and friends to really understand what you are going through. Talk to the psychologist at the hospital and vent your anger.

Knowledge: You will be asked to make many decisions during the course of treatment. Read and learn as much as you can about your child's type of illness. The more you understand, the better prepared you will be to cope.

Humor: As hard as it may seem, keep a good sense of humor. Do fun things with your child and laugh. Remember he stills wants to be treated as the person you knew before he became ill.

Friends & Family: Don't expect them to know how to react or what to say. Be specific in seeking their support, such as baby-sitting, carpooling, a cooked meal, etc.

Siblings: Remember their lives have changed too. They are also scared, and they may resent the lack of attention. Do spend quality time with them and listen to their fears.

An excellent organization I came in contact with was Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation. They put out a quarterly newsletter as well as a youth newsletter, encouraging kids to tell their stories and seek pen pals. For more information, or to request a free subscription, call (800) 366-2223.

Chain Lifeline is another organization that gives support to families with children who have a life threatening disease. They can be reached at (305) 956-9990.

Although my son did not survive his battle with cancer, I hope, through my experience, to help other parents cope with being a caregiver.

HEALTH CARE: Health care costs for the average family of four enrolled in a typical employer-sponsored preferred provider organization plan grew 9.6% from 2005 to 2006 to a national average of $13,382, according to the Milliman Medical Index 2006. Most of that increase resulted from outpatient treatment costs, which surged 12.6% between 2005 and 2006, the report found. This was followed by hospital inpatient costs, which grew by 9.3%; pharmacy costs, which climbed 8.3%; and physician costs, which increased 5.9%. Of the $13,382 total average spending, employers paid about $8,362, while employees paid about $5,020, including $2,810 in payroll deductions for premium contributions and $2,210 in medical cost-sharing including copayments and deductibles.

WHERE THE ENERGY WILL COME FROM: Eighteen reactors — about 70% of the world's total under construction — are going up in Asia, and another 77 are planned or proposed.

Japan depends on nuclear plants for a third of its power and plans to double its nuclear capacity by 2050. Australia wants to build its first plant, and Indonesia has vowed to go nuclear, even though it's vulnerable to earthquakes, floods and landslides.

China plans to increase its nuclear capacity from 6.6 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts by 2020 with the addition of 30 nuclear plants, mostly in heavily populated, industrialized coastal regions where demand and pollution levels are highest.

India intends to go from just under 3 gigawatts to 20 gigawatts by 2020 with the addition of 31 plants, mostly in the west where much of its heavy industry lies.

JUSTIFIED: The NASD is requiring an Amerprise sub to pay 32 retired Exxon Mobil workers $22 million. The Exxon employees, most of whom live in the Baton Rouge area, claimed the firm placed their retirement savings into risky variable annuities and mutual fund B-shares.

FUNERALS: (USA Today) The average cost: $6,500, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. But some traditional funerals with a casket, limousines, a viewing and burial can exceed $20,000.

The Funeral Rule is designed to protect consumers from unscrupulous funeral home operators. Unfortunately, few consumers know about the law. Among the provisions:

• A funeral home must provide you with an itemized price list of its products and services. Items usually include the fees for professional services, transportation and care of the body, costs of providing facilities and staff for a wake or viewing, flowers, music and preparation of obituary notices. The price list lets you choose only the products and services you want. It also makes it easier to compare the prices offered by different funeral homes.

The funeral home is required to give you a free copy of the price list when you visit. It's also required to tell you its prices over the phone. If a funeral director refuses to do so, suggesting instead that you come in for an appointment, "That should be a warning sign.

• If state or local law requires you to buy a particular service, the funeral provider must disclose it on the price list, along with a reference to the law.

• When you visit a funeral home, the director is required to show you a list of caskets the company sells, along with descriptions and prices, before showing you the caskets. This rule is designed to prevent funeral homes from steering you to the most expensive models.

If you buy your casket from somewhere else, the funeral home can't refuse to provide services. And it can't charge you an extra fee. This is an important provision, because a casket is typically the most expensive item bought for a traditional funeral. Prices range from $2,000 to $10,000.

• If you want a direct cremation — which means there will be no visitation or viewing — the funeral home can't require you to buy a casket. Upon request, the funeral home must offer an unfinished wood box or other alternative container.

• Funeral homes are barred from requiring embalming if you plan to be buried or cremated shortly after death. Except in certain cases, embalming isn't required by law, and funeral homes must disclose that fact to potential customers.

Many funeral homes allow individuals to pay in advance for their funerals. These prepaid plans appeal to people who prefer not to burden their families with funeral costs. Some prepaid plans are cash-value life insurance policies that will cover funeral costs. In other cases, funeral homes invest your money in a trust.

These plans aren't covered by federal law, and state regulation is uneven. Some families have lost their money when a funeral home went out of business. In October, a Kentucky funeral home director was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing $90,000 from prepaid funeral plans.

abuses are rare and prepaid contracts offer crucial advantages. Prepaid funeral contracts, for example, aren't considered assets for purposes of determining eligibility for Medicaid. If you end up in a nursing home, the state can't force you to use the money in your prepaid contract to pay for your care before you become eligible for Medicaid.

There are other ways to set aside money for your funeral. You can set up a payable-on-death, or POD, account at your bank, naming the person you want to handle your arrangements as the beneficiary. These accounts don't have to go through probate, the often lengthy process by which a court distributes your assets. When you die, the money will go immediately to the beneficiary and will be available for your funeral.

Unlike with a prepaid contract, you maintain control of the money. If you need funds for medical expenses — or if you decide you'd rather have a new deck than a mahogany coffin — you can withdraw your money from the POD account.

If you're concerned about Medicaid eligibility, check the laws of your state. Some states will exempt POD accounts if they're set up as irrevocable trusts.

EDUCATION COMING: “Studies show us that there are as many as 20 million workers with 401(k) accounts who don’t get the advice they need to make informed investment decisions about their retirements. And they need help because the choices aren’t easy. Changes were needed in ERISA to pave the way for Americans to get much-needed advice from those in the best position to offer it.”

The problem is, effectively every one of the presentations will be wrong. I bet you my lifetime that they will all present the false statements that time reduces risk.

I WISH I WAS REALLY RICH: The Tax Policy Center estimated yesterday that 80% of the tax savings would flow to the top 10% of taxpayers and that almost a fifth of the benefits will go to the top one-tenth of 1%.

ADVICE: Benefit plan participants who use investment advice are generally middle-income wage earners with modest savings, but they tend to take significant, beneficial actions upon consulting with an advisor, such as saving 140 percent more than those who do not get advice.

-- 78 percent identified themselves as beginners or somewhat experienced investors

-- 93 percent felt they better understood their retirement goals after speaking to an advisor

-- 85 percent said they would strongly recommend advisory services to their co-workers

The average age of those using advisory services is 46, with an average account balance of $39,000 and a salary of $45,000, which approximates the median family income in the nation.

OBESITY: About 60% of toddlers and preschoolers who are overweight or obese during their preschool years still weigh too much at age 12, setting them on a path toward adult obesity and its attendant health problems

HOME HOSPITAL: it offers sophisticated medical oversight -- including nurse and doctor visits, X-rays and other tests -- to patients willing and able to receive such care in their own beds. The average length of "stay" for the at-home patients is a little more than three days, compared with an average of about four days for patients choosing to stay at the hospital.

the price tag for treating similarly ill patients at home was $5,081, or a third less than the $7,480 cost of treating a patient in a hospital bed.

Hopkins' two-year pilot study starting in 1996 suggested that home treatment was as safe and satisfactory as hospital care. With lower overhead -- such as room costs, electricity and meals -- and fewer costly tests to administer, the program, which tracked 17 patients, was also found to be about 60% cheaper.

ANNUITIES: I was asked to review the recent investments made by a neighbor at a bank. He is 83 years old- good health. Actuarial lifetime- another 6 years. He was sold a 4.2% annuity (it sucks) with a 7 year surrender charge. That is just plain wrong!!! A surrender charge for longer than what he is anticipated to live!!