Leah Eichler

It's not surprising that men and women handle their personal finances differently. Yet, data collected by the employee benefits company Financial Finesse shows that men trump women when it comes to managing their wallets.

Out of the 3,500 U.S. workers polled, 90 percent of men said they pay their bills on time each month compared to only 74 percent of women. Also, 71 percent of men said they have a handle on their cash flow so they spend less than they earn each month, while only 53 percent of women could claim the same.

Manisha Thakor, a Houston-based finance expert for women, explains that women tend to be less educated in personal finance.

"Men talk socially about money and business," said Thakor. "Women are talking about nurturing subjects."

Also, women are paid less than men, making such things as paying bills and credit card balances harder, she said.

Who handles finances better in your household?

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Original Post Text:
The auto industry's Christmas present from the government -- in the form of a $1 billion loan to General Motors and a $5 billion stake in GMAC -- may have left other industries hoping that the giving season isn't over yet.

The steel industry is pressing President-elect Barack Obama to boost the flagging demand for U.S.-made steel by instituting a "buy American" clause in his infrastructure stimulus package, the New York Times reported.

"As steel production goes — and it is now in collapse — so will go the national economy," writes the New York Times, referencing the maxim once applied to The Big Three automakers.

But why stop at manufacturing industries? Rep. Frank Nicastro of Connecticut and some of his fellow legislators want to save two local papers, The Bristol Press and The Herald, which are hanging by a thread after their publisher said it cannot afford to keep them.

Which companies are really too big to fail? If you were writing the check, who would you bail out?

(Pictured above: Workers secure a steel beam at a construction site on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York, April 21, 2008. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

The auto industry's Christmas present from the government -- in the form of a $1 billion loan to General Motors and a $5 billion stake in GMAC -- may have left other industries hoping that the giving season isn't over yet.

The steel industry is pressing President-elect Barack Obama to boost the flagging demand for U.S.-made steel by instituting a "buy American" clause in his infrastructure stimulus package, the New York Times reported.

"As steel production goes — and it is now in collapse — so will go the national economy," writes the New York Times, referencing the maxim once applied to The Big Three automakers.

But why stop at manufacturing industries? Rep. Frank Nicastro of Connecticut and some of his fellow legislators want to save two local papers, The Bristol Press and The Herald, which are hanging by a thread after their publisher said it cannot afford to keep them.

Which companies are really too big to fail? If you were writing the check, who would you bail out?

(Pictured above: Workers secure a steel beam at a construction site on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York, April 21, 2008. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

[CROSSPOST blog: 7 post: 10820]

Original Post Text:
Despite the incessant drumbeat of poor economic data -- consumer confidence fell to a record low in December and the price of single-family homes plunged in October -- the majority of Americans are optimistic about what is in store in 2009.

The Marist College canvassed 1,003 Americans about their expectations for 2009 on December 9 and 10 -- days after the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed the United States had been mired in a recession since December 2007.

Expectations for a brighter future were higher among younger generations with 64 percent of those under 45 having an optimistic view compared with 52 percent for those 45 or older.

Based on last year's results, those who aim to improve their lives in 2009 will have at least partial success. In 2008, 60 percent kept their self-made promises for at least part of the year.

Are you optimistic about 2009? What resolutions will you make to improve your life in 2009?

Despite the incessant drumbeat of poor economic data -- consumer confidence fell to a record low in December and the price of single-family homes plunged in October -- the majority of Americans are optimistic about what is in store in 2009.

The Marist College canvassed 1,003 Americans about their expectations for 2009 on December 9 and 10 -- days after the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed the United States had been mired in a recession since December 2007.

Expectations for a brighter future were higher among younger generations with 64 percent of those under 45 having an optimistic view compared with 52 percent for those 45 or older.

Based on last year's results, those who aim to improve their lives in 2009 will have at least partial success. In 2008, 60 percent kept their self-made promises for at least part of the year.

Are you optimistic about 2009? What resolutions will you make to improve your life in 2009?

November's job losses were the steepest since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were shed. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a reduction of 340,000 jobs.

"This is a clear employment blowout. Firms are reacting as dramatically as they can to make sure they have cost structures they can survive the recession we are in," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.

One reader commenting on the site feels the job losses have not hit bottom. "I predict 30% unemployment by March of 2009. The retailers are gonna tank right after Christmas. Look for some really good deals!" wrote Smacktle.

Not all responses were as dire.

"Well these are pretty bad numbers. This will be a real test to see how much bad news is priced into the markets. Futures are down quite a bit, but I actually expected them to be down a lot more given these terrible recessionary numbers," says Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist for LPL Financial in Boston.

"It might be hard in future months to get numbers that are any worse. It might be good that we raced to some of the worst numbers we've had because perhaps it can't get incrementally worse."

Some of our readers found the data less shocking.

"This is not a big surprise, really. One has only to observe how many fewer cars are on the road shortly after rush hour, how many empty seats are on the planes into or out of major hubs, how many fewer people are in front of you in any line for services from movie theaters to tire stores, how much more quickly you are seated in a restaurant," writes Jaime Simmons.

What you think about today's unemployment numbers?

(Pictured above: A member of the Laborers Union Local 89 waits outside his local union hall after placing his name on the job list in San Marcos, California November 7, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Jerry Yang, the chief executive of Yahoo, will step down from his role as soon as the board finds a replacement, the company said.

"The company is in desperate need of change and this is clearly one way to do it," said Ross Sandler, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Sandler said he expects the shares to move higher as investors speculate that Microsoft might make another play for the company, with Yang gone.

"Jerry was the roadblock for the last deal getting done," he said.

Not everyone believes Yang's departure bodes well for the beleaguered Internet company.

"I've been recommending them as a short. They should have taken the Microsoft deal, and Microsoft probably feels lucky that they didn't... I don't see anything there worth buying," said Jeff Embersits, CIO of Shareholder Value Management.  "For me it's just a business in trouble.

What impact will Yang's departure have on Yahoo?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are urging Congress to act swiftly on a $700 billion bailout plan for the financial system.

Politico.com quotes a former Federal Reserve official as saying, "the alternative is complete financial Armageddon and a great depression.”

Hugo Duncan writes in the Evening Standard that if the bailout fails, "banking stocks are likely to drag shares around the world into the mire sparking further panic over the financial system and state of the economy. It would make recession in America and Britain ever more likely, with house prices and standards of living falling and repossessions and unemployment rising."

Assuming that Congress approves the Bernanke-Paulson bailout plan, do you think it is enough to stabilize the banking sector?

The impact on Main Street from the crisis on Wall Street is another open question. "How long it will take the banks to restore health to their balance sheets, raise capital and start lending money again," Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, tells Nick Carey. "That could take a year and credit conditions may start to improve in the second half of 2009."

For full coverage of the crisis in credit, click here.

Equity markets around the world surged on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout  as hopes rose that the U.S. plan to take control might put at least a temporary floor under troubled financial markets. Together, the two companies back about half of $12 trillion in mortgages in the U.S."This is a baby step in the right direction," William Larkin, fixed income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts, said about the plan's effect on housing and the economy.

Not everyone is convinced. "This euphoria might fade, because Fannie and Freddie are not the problem," said Christopher Low , chief economist at FTN Financial.

"Their woes are a symptom of a worldwide contraction in credit that may not be cured by the decision." The Prudent Investor cites how the plan potentially doubled U.S. public debt overnight.

Did the U.S. Treasury make the right move? What's your view?

Feeling lucky? If you think the Fannie and Freddie rescue plan will impact mortgage rates, wager on your prediction here:

Will the 30-year mortgage rate fall this week after the rescue of Freddie and Fannie?

(Charles Abbyad, 58, is the maitre d’ at Arnaud’s, a classic creole restaurant in the center of New Orleans. With his wife, Jill, he keeps a guesthouse called The Chimes in the city’s historic Garden District. Abbyad chose to stay behind and ride out Hurricane Gustav with Reuters reporters Matt Bigg and Tim Gaynor.)

11:00 a.m. Monday

"Time was flying by yesterday but when the wind shifted to the south I felt a bit of relief. We were watching the water overlapping the western wall of the Industrial Canal. The walls on that side were the old 'I' walls, not the present 'T' walls. I was concerned. I had heard of two things: if the winds persisted for another two hours they had no idea how much water would come into the parish. And the two barges that were loose had not been tied down."

"Around 11.00 or 12.00, the news came that the barges were tied up and the wind had shifted to the south. That was a tremendous relief. From that point on, my concern eased off tremendously."

"The only thing I was thinking about at that point was preparing dinner: grilled Cornish game hens, steamed asparagus, sautéed potatoes, corn on the cob and Caesar salad. I was rusty on making the Hollandaise sauce but pulled out the recipe on the Internet and I managed to make the sauce without it breaking."

"My supplies in the fridge, given that no grocery stores may open for two-three days, are sufficient. Following that they (the guests) will not starve but they will not enjoy the luxuries they have had until now. The good wines from the restaurant are now gone and we will be drinking 'Yellow Tail' for the duration."

6:00 p.m. Monday

I had no concern about the well-being of the city although every now and then I had a slight déjà vu of Katrina. It was not till the next day back then that I knew about the levees having broken. Last night was the first night we slept with no air conditioning, the breeze was sufficient and thanks to two Tylenols we were knocked out for the night."

9:00 a.m. Tuesday

"Today we have started cleaning up but I am not about to take down my shutters etc due to the fact that Hurricane Hanna may enter the Gulf and Ike is an unknown. I do not want to go through the whole process again."

10:15 a.m. Tuesday

"I view the long term as this is part of life over here. If I was in California, I would expect an earthquake. If  I was in Lebanon, I would never know when things would change politically. If I was in the Midwest, I would not know when a tornado was going to hit. I made the choice of living here. It is a beautiful city and I am prepared for that. Every place has got its problems."