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Discusses how many people are against United States President George W. Bush's Ownership plan for Social Security. Desire of people to have a safety net when it comes to retirement income and health insurance; Need for the government to offer health insurance to everyone; Description of Bush's plan for Social Security, which would allow citizens to divert part of their payroll taxes into stocks and bonds; View of Americans of Wall Street and investing risk; Lack of enthusiasm for this plan.

Comments that as investigators look into the accounting misstatements of American International Group Inc. (AIG), it is becoming clear that regulators failed to detect lapses. Failure of federal and state regulators, as well as outside auditors, to identify accounting fraud; Defense of regulators that insurers lie to cover up fraud, making detection a difficult task; Analysis of the AIG investigation. INSET: Who Should Watch the Insurers?.

Discusses the growing scandal at American International Group Inc. (AIG), which began as an investigation into two reinsurance transactions, and resulted in the resignation of chairman and chief executive, Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg. How AIG admitted to a broad range of improper accounting; Details of the company's accounting issues; Investigation of the company by state and federal officials; Reaction of AIG to the investigations, including the launch of its own internal investigations and the appointment of AIG executive Martin J. Sullivan as the new CEO. INSETS: Long Shadow;Many Ways To Gild Earnings.

Profiles President George W. Bush and the challenges he faces in his campaign for re-election in November. Dissolving public support for the U.S. occupation of Iraq; Struggles of the U.S. economic to create jobs; Charges from John Kerry that he is out of touch with the economic pressures buffetting the middle classes; Expectation that Bush will unveil his second-term agenda at the Republican National Convention in New York this week with a focus on the idea of an "Ownership Society," in which Americans would be empowered to save and invest more; Comparison with the expanded government safety net that Kerry proposes to help strapped workers; Discussion of Bush's views on taxation; Details of Bush's proposals towards creating an Ownership Society. INSET: PIECE OF THE ROCK VS. THE BIG SAFETY NET.

Reports on presidential candidate John Kerry's strategy for winning the election. Lack of reliance on anti-Bush fervor; Description his formula for growth, redirecting money towards "human capital"; Potential for higher taxes on affluent investors; Concern among economists that hitting up the rich to help the middle class will harm long-term growth; Plan to expand health coverage while driving down premiums; Focus on bolstering public schools, hiking teacher salaries, and offering tuition help for families; Proposal of a new tax credit for hiring by manufacturers, small businesses, and companies affected by outsourcing; More. INSETS: KERRYNOMICS: A SAMPLING;Kerry's Key Domestic Advisers.

As election 2004 heads into the home stretch amid signs of another photo finish, strategists for both major parties say the race will likely be determined in pockets such as the thriving Interstate 4 corridor that links Tampa and Orlando. With an electorate polarized by Bush-besotted Republicans and Bush-loathing Democrats, a small group of two-income households--economically squeezed and strongly pro-military--holds the key to the White House. George W. Bush and John Kerry are lavishing an enormous amount of time and money on New Mexico, Missouri, and Oregon -- and blitzing Ohio and Pennsylvania. Florida, once part of the solidly Democratic South, is now a crucial swing state. America in 2004 is confronted with profound questions of war and peace, and there is a stark contrast between the GOP vision of an entrepreneurial "ownership society" and the Democrats' new middle-class safety net. Why in a land that extols the ideal of equality are some votes more equal than others? A key reason is the unusual way we pick our President. Americans do not directly tap a leader -- we vote for state electors, super-representatives who select a winner by casting ballots in the Electoral College. The location of the key swing voters also helps shape our political discourse. Ever wonder why there's so much talk about the decline of U.S. manufacturing? One reason is that seven industrial battleground states with 79 electoral votes will likely tip the election. Meanwhile, states with predictable partisan voting, such as New York (Democratic) and Utah (Republican) have seen their influence shrink. That's why Kerry won't be spending much time by the Great Salt Lake this year. But by focusing on the Gray Zone, the major parties are reinforcing the cycle of uncompetitiveness in Red and Blue states. And indifference at the Presidential level hurts each party's chances in local contests.

This article discusses new anti-terror tools under development by the technology industry in the United States. Half a billion foreign visitors cross America's borders, land at her airports, and dock at her harbors each year. Imagine trying to weed out the criminals and terrorists while keeping track of everyone else as they vacation, conduct business, enroll in college--and try to drop out of sight once they've overstayed their visa. The Bermuda technology consulting company, with U.S. headquarters in Reston, Va., will design a system for high-tech passports and visas, plus a database to keep track of when and where travelers cross the border. Tally it all up and government and private-sector security spending will hit $130 billion to $180 billion a year by 2010, up from $65 billion in 2003, calculates consultant Homeland Security Research Corp. in San Jose, Calif. Wall Street is anticipating a flood of business: A 13-stock index of publicly traded homeland-security companies tracked by Memphis brokerage Morgan Keegan & Co. has already risen 20% since the start of the year, vs. The Accenture contract, for a system dubbed U.S.-VISIT, is the biggest issued by the DHS to date.

Looks at the prosecution's case against Jeff Skilling of Enron Corporation. Belief that it will be hard for the Justice Department to punish the former CEO as he was able to keep his fingerprints off the evidence; Timeline of actions taken by Skilling to protect himself before the collapse of the company; Ability to have walked away from the ruins without a trace; No evidence to link Skilling with the wrongdoing at the company; Need for the investors who lost all to see the top men punished; Thoughts on whether or not he can get a fair trial anywhere in the U.S.; Focus of the charges which are expected to be securities fraud; Forecast that the trial will be one of shared blows but no knockouts. INSET: Countdown to Disaster.

Discusses key issues concerning retirement planning in the U.S. in 2003. Impact of new tax laws and an improving stock market on returns from 401(k) and other retirement accounts; Analysis of pertinent topics and relevant issues; Implications for retirement planning. INSETS: Modest Expectations;How Annuities Can Help;New Rules of Thumb.

Up and down Wall Street, analysts and investment bankers, under the watchful eye of management, turned the business of investing into a crass "heads we win, tails you lose" proposition for investors. To make sure analysts kept up the ruse, their bosses paid them according to how much new investment-banking business they attracted. And to reward execs for sending them business, bankers "virtually bribed" CEOs, as one regulator put it, with shares of hot initial public offerings. Such corrupt relationships helped drive the stock market to absurd heights in the late 1990s. And it fueled a vast transfer of wealth from investors to Wall Street bankers and their CEO clients. Retail brokers, whose clients were duped by the dishonest research, complained loudly, but their pleas were ignored all the way up the chain of command. No one did anything because everyone in the game profited. Everyone, that is, but retail investors, who didn't know the rules. Now they do. The $1.4 billion settlement between state and federal securities regulators and 10 of the largest Wall Street firms is meant to ensure that investors are never again relegated to the bottom of the food chain. Regulators hope to restore the integrity of research by forcing structural reforms on the Terrible Ten. The pact also aims to boost the sophistication of individual investors by requiring the firms to provide free copies of independently produced analysis and to support an investor-education fund. And it hopes to make research more transparent by requiring firms to publish their analysts' stock-picking track records. Real change may depend on regulators making good on promises to bring future cases against the Wall Street executives and managers who oversaw research and banking -- including the CEOs. So far, only two individuals -- former analysts Jack B. Grubman of Salomon Smith Barney and Henry R. Blodget of Merrill Lynch -- have been punished. INSET: GRADING THE DEAL.

Offers personal financial advice on retirement. Impact of financial trouble in the United States on retirees; Workers' expectations for investment returns; Exposure of employees to employer stock; Tips for adjusting one's investment portfolio to minimize harm to one's retirement funds. INSET: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A BEAR MARKET MAKES.

Examines the challenges in successfully punishing corporate corruption in the U.S., in light of the conviction of Arthur Andersen LLP for obstruction of justice; Difficulty for prosecutors in educating jurors about sophisticated financial concepts, finding an inside whistle-blower who can recount key conversations, and proving an executive willfully broke the law; Issue of executives hiring top lawyers, who can create reasonable doubt through blaming other employees; Outlook. INSET: The Legal Road Ahead.

Reports on the efforts to reform corporate governance. Efforts of institutional shareholders to target companies on executive compensation issues; Plans by stock exchanges to force corporations to be more accountable to shareholders; Hopes of growth investors to have companies pay dividends and change their stock options policies; Decision by investment banks to issue more downgrades of stock and cleaner balance sheets, realizing the impact on mergers. INSETS: Getting Tough;Investors Are Still Spooked.

Focuses on the crisis of corporate governance in the U.S., in light of resignations of various executives amidst allegations of greed and questionable accounting practices. Criticism of corporations for lobbying against reform, when changes are needed if the businesses hope to continue with a free-market economic system based on the participation of investors without heavy regulations; Reasons for the deterioration in corporate ethics; Outlook for the reinstatement of integrity in business. INSET: Shining A New Light on Earnings.

Examines corruptness among Wall Street investment firms. Reports of stockholders being told not to sell their shares by investment advisers and suffering massive losses, while the advisers knew they were weakening investments; Investigation by the Securities & Exchange Commission into such firms as Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Comment that investment bankers find themselves conflicted as they try to serve the companies for which they sell stocks and bonds, and the investors whom they advise; Outlook for reforms. INSET: Where Does the Buck Stop?.

Reports on list of the top 50 companies for 2002 according to 'BusinessWeek.' Impact of the recession and the accounting scandal of Enron Crop. on the composition of the list; Drop in the number of new economy companies on the list; How the companies on the list have focused on building their brands; Success of consumer goods companies. INSET: A BW50 Retrospective: In the Beginning, There Was High Tech.

Focuses on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission head Harvey L. Pitt. Pressure on Pitt to reform the accounting practices of companies; How the accounting scandal at Enron prompted the push for reform; Use of deceptive accounting practices to inflate earnings and downplay debt; Hope of U.S. President George W. Bush that the problems can be solved without new legislation; Criticism of Pitt that he is not being tough enough. INSET: PITT'S AGENDA.

The article focuses on the betrayal felt by the Investor Class (IC) in the U.S. in the wake of the collapse of Enron Corp. Predominantly middle-class, suburban baby boomers, they bought into the idea that stocks could only make them richer. They exulted during the long bull market of the 1990s. But they have lost $5 trillion, or 30%, of their stock wealth since the spring of 2000, when the dot-com implosion launched the second-worst bear market since World War II. The IC boomed in the 1990s as more and more people plunged into the market. At the start of the decade, they had $712 billion in 401(k) and similar plans, 45% of it in stocks. By the end of 2000, that had ballooned to $2.5 trillion, with 72% in equities. Today, the IC is angry and disillusioned because it feels betrayed. On the heels of Enron's bankruptcy filing they are questioning the very integrity of the financial system. The new IC is losing its appetite for risk and is parking its cash in low-yielding money-market funds and bank savings accounts, Far fewer are opening brokerage accounts. How all this shakes out is vital to the health of the U.S. economy. If the crisis galvanizes companies and government into cleaning things up, investors will regain the confidence they need to put money to work in productive investments. INSETS: THE ACCOUNTANT WHO LOST FAITH--AND MONEY;THE ATTORNEY WHO STOPPED OPENING HER STATEMENTS;THE NEW INVESTOR CLASS;THE COUPLE THAT SWITCHED TO A SAVINGS ACCOUNT

This article presents several proposals for reforming the accounting sector in the U.S. The accounting sector, which largely regulates itself, has steadfastly resisted change, even in the face of repeated audit failures and scandals. That is about to change. The size and scope of the Enron disaster is simply too huge to ignore. Eight congressional committees, as of January 2002, are investigating or planning hearings on the matter, and legislation is already in the works to force firms to abandon consulting to audit clients or face much stiffer legal liability. There is also a proposal for a new body that would remove discipline and investigation of audit failures from the current system of professional peer review. INSET: ACCOUNTING FAILURES AREN'T NEW--JUST MORE FREQUENT.

The article offers suggestions on the companies that are confused with their earning sources, and the things that investors need to know about trade investments. The situational problems involving several companies in the United States like Enron Corp and Lehman Brothers Inc. are discussed. Several aspects about investments are analyzed. INSET: NAVIGATING THE NUMBERS.

The article suggests some retirement plans for persons who have interest in the bear market. According to the author, the stock market has smashed many retirement plans, and confident investors are paying the price for stubbornly refusing to diversify out of technology and large-cap stocks. Several retirement plans for the persons aged 45, 50, 60, and 70 years have been suggested in the article. INSETS: WHAT IF STOCKS SLOW DOWN?;AFTER THE MARKET'S FALL.

Reports on the efforts of Arthur Levitt Jr., the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to regulate the accounting industry. Practice by accounting companies of providing both auditing and consulting services to corporations; SEC belief that this double employment compromises the integrity of the company and puts investors at risk; Levitt's contention that auditors have conflicting interests; Opposition to Levitt by several accounting firms including KPMG. INSETS: THE SEC vs. THE CPAs: BATTLEGROUND ISSUES;ARTHUR LEVITT CAREER HIGHLIGHTS;POLITICAL GREEN FROM THE GREEN-EYESHADE CROWD.

The article offers a look at the development and reshaping of personal financial portfolios in the U.S., as of July 17, 2000. According to experts, asset allocation is the way to protect the paper wealth for retirement. Several investment studies show that one basic decision--the division of funds among broad asset classes--will determine, on average, 90% of the success as money manager. For a growing number of workers, the risk is keyed in to an enormous bet in shares of their employers' stocks. Employees whose plans offer company shares have tied up more than 30% of their 401(k) money in that option.

Discusses the growing number of mainstream financiers who are making high-interest loans to the poor and hard pressed. The growing number of paycheck and car-title lenders that are being financed by Wall Street and banks; Criticism from activists; The interest rates that are charged by easy-money lenders.

Reports on the frequency, variety and danger of Internet fraud. Wide range and anonymity of the Internet as factors in Web fraud; Types of Internet fraud including credit-card fraud, auction fraud, get-rich schemes, and e-commerce Web sites which do not deliver promised goods; Businesses as victims of Internet faud; Government action against Internet crime; Suggestions for Internet users to avoid fraud. INSET: The Top 10 Scams On The Net.

This article presents guidelines on retirement planning for U.S. executives and businesspeople. Issues to contend with include: saving for college or retirement, assessment of personal finances, portfolio management, and information resources in Web sites and application software. INSETS: Should You Save for College or Retirement First?;Lowering Risk Via Asset Allocation;How Long Will Your Nest Egg Last?.

Offers advice for keeping your 1998 adjusted gross income under the limits of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Time income and deductions; Prefund individual retirement accounts; Rebalance your portfolio; Plan your options strategy; Use up flexible-spending money; Use your $10,000 gift exclusion.

Discusses the involvement of the United States in a complex financial bailout of Indonesia. Participation of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, private investment banks and others; Tension surrounding the bailout; Estimated cost; Other Asian trouble spots including Japan, China and Malaysia.

The article speculates what the U.S. would be like under a balanced budget. On February 6, U.S. President Bill Clinton will propose a fiscal agenda that promises a zero deficit by 2002. Balancing the budget by 2002 may have the ring of a bumper-sticker slogan, but it will have profound consequences on the U.S. and global economies, the future of many businesses, and the government's compact with the public. If the budget can actually be balanced on schedule and without gimmicks, and if Congress and the President can keep it out of the red, the payoff will be striking. more apparent. Bondholders may reap handsome profits, but the poor and elderly could see their benefits trimmed for everything from food stamps to health care. Clinton is proposing $138 billion in Medicare savings over six years, a $100 billion tax cut, and a spending freeze on most domestic programs except for education, which would get a big boost.

The article presents a forecast on the performance of the industrial sector of the U.S. for 1997. Some forecasters say that the U.S. economy is ticking out steady 2% to 2.5% growth, quarter after quarter. According to a poll conducted by "Business Week," 93% of the interviewed top executives say they are optimistic about the 1997 economy, with 82% predicting that growth will match or exceed 1996's performance. Economist Bruce E. Steinberg of Merrill Lynch & Co. notes that inflation has never before remained so tame this late in an expansion--a sign that what he calls the too-good-to-be-true economy can keep rolling on.

The article reflects upon a U.S. Senate advisory panel report made in December 4, 1996 indicating that the consumer price index (CPI), the nation's main gauge of inflation, overstates price hikes by 1.1 percent points a year. Correcting that error would reduce the federal deficit by about $200 billion over the next five years. It would also slow the growth of wages and benefits for millions of workers and retirees. Nearly half the budget savings from a CPI correction though would be in the form of smaller annual cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security and other federal retirement benefits. A Senate Finance Committee report on the issue states that the CPI is too simple an index to measure prices accurately in a rapidly changing economy.

Examines Bob Dole's proposal for a $500 billion-plus tax cut. Debate between supply siders and traditional economists; How Dole's economic package bears the stamps of his many advisers and gives a break to everyfaction of the Republican Party; Results of a `Business Week'/Harris Poll taken on July 26-31, 1996 regarding tax cuts; Why Dole's across-the-board rate cut may provide an incentive for middle-income people.

Examines the United States' economy. Expectation that the current growth spurt in 1996 will not last much longer; Why the economy can achieve faster growth without inflation; How a pro-savings, pro-investment policy is the best way to increase the US economy; Three ways to faster growth being to balance the budget, overhaul taxes, and privatize social security. INSET: THE GROWTH PRESCRIPTION.

Offers predictions on the performance of several industries in 1996. Dependence of real estate and commercial housing on the extent of the decrease in short-term interest rates; Trends in business investment; Unemployment rates; Inflation rates; Performance of exports; Performance in the international markets. INSETS: Leaders (high technology and service industries).;Laggards (industries expected to have a bad year).;World growth (inflation rates)..

Discusses doubts on President Bill Clinton's Health Care Program. Ambitiousness of goals; Employer's burden and effect on low-wage workers; Assumptions on the medical spending trends; Business' fear of regulation of health system; Program's blueprint; Managed competition model; Hesitation in Congress; Need for a centrist alliance; Speculation on the final legislation. INSET: GOOD FOR BUSINESS? IT'S NOT THAT EASY….

This article focuses on issues related to health-care reform in the U.S. in 1993. Consumers shopping for coverage, giant purchasing cooperatives such as the California employee plan, and greater use of managed care are all elements of the model President Bill Clinton is building his health-care reform proposal around. The idea is to create a market that gives health purchasers the power to rein in the cost of medicine. Critics deride managed competition as a complex, untested theory with few prospects for success. Managed-competition advocates argue that their plan can produce a system that's even better than its parts. In that world, pressure from consumers and cooperatives would force health plans to work constantly on developing more efficient care.

States that United States President-elect Bill Clinton intends to do just what he promised in the campaign. Committed himself to an investment-oriented economic-recovery plan; Program to halve the budget deficit over four years; Major new effort to spur research and development; The top of Clinton's Washington agenda; May tackle the deficit with more vigor than many expect.