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Four Easy Ways to Jump-Start Your Ailing 401(k)

401K

(By Christine Benz, Morningstar)- Remember the late, great 1990s, when keeping watch over your 401(k) was actually fun? Never mind that the market, and technology stocks in particular, were ridiculously overvalued. For a brief, shining moment, even lousy funds and poor 401(k) plans were posting mind-boggling gains guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

A three-year bear market that ended in early 2003, followed by 2008, the worst bear market since the Great Depression, has sobered most people up. Greed has turned to fear. Retirees have had to go back to work and pre-retirees are coming to grips with the notion that the traditional retirement age of 65 is a relic of a bygone era.

In talking to individuals in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, I'm hearing a lot of statements like, "I know I have time, so I'm not worried." and, "I'm just not looking at my statements." That's generally encouraging. After all, being able to tune out the noise is one of the keys to successful investing. And we're so far into this bear market that one of the worst things those with long time horizons can do is to panic and shift everything into cash. Not only would you miss the rebound in stocks, but you'd also be left wondering when is the right time to get back in.

It's possible to strike a balance between checking your 401(k) account every morning (and tempting yourself to make inopportunely timed changes) and complete and utter portfolio neglect. The following steps should get you on your way. Read More

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Panasonic Sharply Slashes Outlook By 90% Amid Financial Crisis

OSAKA, Japan - Panasonic Corp. (NYSE:PC) today announced a revision of its consolidated financial results forecast for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 (fiscal 2009).

The current financial crisis originated in the United States has spread across the world and the business sentiment in Japan and overseas has significantly worsened. Under these circumstances, the company’s business conditions are deteriorating sharply, due mainly to the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spending and ever-intensified price competition.

In addition, there are negative factors such as a write-down of investment securities as a result of the decline in stock prices and business restructuring expenses. Accordingly, Panasonic today announced a downward revision of the consolidated financial forecast for the full fiscal year 2009, ending March 31, 2009 from the previous forecast announced on April 28, 2008.

Regarding net sales on a consolidated basis, the company has revised its previous forecast of 9,200 billion yen downward to 8,500 billion yen. Consolidated operating profit1 is expected to amount to 340 billion yen, down from the previous forecast of 560 billion yen.

Consolidated income before income taxes is forecast to be 100 billion yen, down from the previously announced 500 billion yen. Net income is now expected to decrease from the previous forecast of 310 billion yen to 30 billion yen.

Click Here For Press Release.

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