Navigating Troubled Times: Answers for Readers.

[Updated 7:41 p.m.] With the cloud of uncertainty still looming over financial markets, hundreds of readers responded to an invitation to submit questions about the effect on their personal finances. And several recurring themes emerged. Many individuals are still concerned about the safety of their money market mutual funds, as well as the specifics behind the alphabet soup of insurance, from F.D.I.C. to S.I.P.C. Some are worried that they will not be able to get student loans for college, while others have questions about their retirement funds. Answers to many of these questions appear below. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]