| Dolan still has confidence in Knicks coach Thomas
The Suns' Grant Hill on how Orlando has been revitalized under coach Stan Van Gundy: "We didn't get the right coaching there. I think we under-performed the last few years." Nice slap at former Magic coach Brian Hill, who is now an assistant in New Jersey helping Lawrence Frank do the same thing to the Nets.
Has Shaq's star finally faded?
With fan voting concluding today, Shaquille O'Neal's streak making an All-Star roster appears all but over. Orlando's Dwight Howard has a 2-1 lead in the voting, and Toronto's Chris Bosh is expected to be selected by coaches as the reserve center. O'Neal has been selected to the All-Star Game every year there has been one during his 15-year career. The exception was the lockout-shortened 1999 season.
Heat coach Pat Riley is perhaps the only person in the NBA who believes Shaq deserves consideration based on his body of work.
First, build a down payment
Dear Liz: I'd like to buy my first house soon, but real estate is expensive where I live and condominiums seem more affordable. What is your take on owning a condo versus a house? Because I will have to do 100% financing, I will have to pay $250 a month in private mortgage insurance, which will result in a payment of about $2,450 a month for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, which seems like a lot. I was advised that I could decrease my tax withholding, because the mortgage interest will be deductible, and that will make the payment seem less huge.
Answer: Wait a bit and build a down payment.
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If it's 4 a.m., that's an infomercial on TV
We can see product demonstrations instantly, online. Yet, even so, this particular brand of extended sales pitch -- rife with painfully bad acting, peppy spokespeople and enthusiastic product demos -- still rules the airwaves in the wee hours. Some suck you in, while others just plain... don't. But they all have something to say. So, now, as we settle down for the post-holiday sales doldrums, we have a few things to say about them. (As for the products themselves, we neither endorse nor malign, as we're strictly infomercial window-shoppers.) That said, we give you "The Insomniac's Guide to (a few) Infomercials," which is -- we swear -- based on descriptions of actual product pitches. The Magic Bullet This infomercial is unique in that it tells a story.
Administering Pain
One thing that is almost always overlooked in assessing the value and the rewards of a 401(k) plan are the plan administrative fees that are charged to the participants. The largest enemies to your long-term savings through a 401(k) plan are excessive fees by the selected mutual funds. Another set of fees also is circling around your retirement funds, nibbling away at your savings and nearly invisible to the naked eye. These are the fees associated with running the 401(k) plan itself. Participants in 401(k) plans are currently not adequately informed about the fees associated with the day-to-day operational costs of running increasingly more complex plans. These fees include the costs of mailings and other record-keeping, telephone voice response systems, daily valuation services, educational seminars, retirement planning software -- and all the rest of the clutter.
FDA approves HIV drug etravirine
Sold under the trade name Intelence, etravirine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or NNRTI, that helps to block an enzyme that the human immunodeficiency virus needs to multiply, the FDA said. It was approved for use in combination with other anti-HIV medications. Etravirine can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood and increase white blood cells that help fight off other infections, the FDA said. It also may reduce the risk of death or infections that can occur with a weakened immune system. The government gave etravirine a priority review, a status granted to medications aimed at treating serious or life-threatening conditions. Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a unit of Johnson & Johnson, said last July that it had requested etravirine be placed on a fast track for review.
Chat transcript with Roy Komack
Roy Komack founded and serves as president of the Family Financial Architects, Inc in Natick. He received his MBA from Boston University and is a Life Member of the American Association of Individual Investors and NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor. Here is the transcript from Oct. 2, 2006, of Komack answering Boston.com readers' questions about personal finance and investment. .
EDITOR’S MAILBAG
I do not receive housing assistance or welfare.Everything I have, I worked for. Without my van, I can't take my daughter to school and I can't drive to work. If there was a medical emergency with my children, how would I get them to a doctor?I work as a certified nurse's aide for a staffing agency. I am required to travel to various towns to earn a living. If I can't drive to work, how will I pay my rent and utility bills? I can't even purchase a new vehicle until I receive my tax refund. I won't even be getting paid for working this week because my timecard is in my van. My daughter's car seats were in my van. Some of their favorite travel toys are in my van. I am living an absolute nightmare.Do car thieves even realize the hardship they cause people when they steal? Do they realize that stealing is illegal? Why would any sane person risk jail time over a 1994 Plymouth Voyager with a broken radio and bad transmission? I just can't grasp what would make a person do something so stupid.
Your Artist Rating:
While at Oxford, he wrote and performed his own songs, which brought him to the attention of manager Larry Parnes (who handled Tommy Steele and other British pop stars). Signing with Parnes, he made recordings for Top Rank Records produced by Tony Hatch (apparently never released) and performed under the name Kris Carson, but he was not successful. After earning a master's degree in English literature from Oxford in 1960, Kristofferson intended to continue his studies there. But during a Christmas break back home in California, he resumed his relationship with an old girlfriend, Fran Beir, and they married. Instead of returning to Oxford, he joined the Army. Like his father, he became a pilot, learning to fly helicopters. He was assigned to West Germany and went there with his wife and their daughter.
Tips for making a clean fiscal break during a divorce
Going through a divorce can make you an emotional wreck. But you don't have to be a complete financial wreck as well. Sure, it can be hard to think about money when you're mourning the loss of a personal relationship. But forging a clean break - financially and personally - will make it easier to move on with your life. .
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