| Take control: Understanding investing fees (AP) and Flee, or stay the financial course? (Bankrate.com) |
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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 01/14/2009 - Retirement industry news provided by Financial News USA. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Dismal market performance in 2008 has many investors thinking about a new investment strategy for the coming year -- a key element of which should be to slash investment fees. In such a bleak stock market, it's likely your goal was to protect what you had by minimizing losses rather than posting any significant gains. Broader market forces pressured most investments downward."When you come off a frustrating year like last year, investors are looking around for answers," said Christine Benz, director of personal finance for Morningstar Inc. "One of the most obvious things you can do is focus on what you can control and I put fund fees squarely in the column of something you can control."So whether you are a fund investor or manage your own stock portfolio, managing your investment fees should be a part of your overall strategy.MUTUAL FUND INVESTORSRegulatory changes regarding mutual fund fee disclosures are being debated in Washington, D.C. [Read the full article] If you're worried about the dramatic ups and downs in the U.S. stock market, you can still count on one thing for sure: You're not alone. Plenty of people have panicked and sold off their mutual funds, raided their bank accounts or taken other ill-considered steps they may well regret later on -- or at least that's the perspective of financial planners, who unanimously advise against hasty decisions and instead advocate calm. "You can't make good decisions when you are emotional. You have to calm down," says Frank Boucher, principal of Boucher Financial Planning Services in Reston, Va. "Sit back, take a deep breath, relax and when you are ready to deal with it without emotion, you are ready."There's no doubt that the stock market has been volatile. [Read the full article] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Social Security Administration, envisaging the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day, has put together a new online service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field office. The agency, in introducing the program Tuesday, said most people will be able to apply for their retirement or disability benefits in 15 minutes or less.Academy Award-winning actress Patty Duke, spokeswoman for the Retire Online campaign, acknowledged that her own computer skills "are wanting." But her husband gave her a demonstration "and I was able to do it with my limited skills. It was very user-friendly," she said in an interview Monday.The administration is betting that a great majority of baby boomers, the first to grow old in the computer age, will share that opinion."We have nearly 80 million baby boomers coming in," Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue told The Associated Press. [Read the full article] There is no doubt that leisure stocks have lost their luster in the wake of the current recession. Rising unemployment and weakening consumer confidence have translated into declining demand for leisure and recreation activities. In the face of this bad news, leisure stocks have endured precipitous declines. Fortunately, we believe that keen investors with long-term time horizons and a willingness to look beyond the headlines can find several gems in this beaten-down sector. How Are Consumers Changing Their Behavior?As times get tough, it helps to evaluate exactly how consumers are modifying their spending habits. Real personal consumption expenditures have declined, and consumer sentiment is at a 28-year low. However, we've seen demand hold strong for less-expensive forms of entertainment that represent attractive value. [Read the full article] About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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