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INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS
International -- Readers Report
International -- Finance
International -- Int'l Figures of the Week




DECEMBER 22, 2003
Footnotes
Edited by Carol Marie Cropper

The Funds That Came Out Of The Darkness

The mutual-fund mess may have one silver lining -- better portfolio disclosure. Fund companies are now required to tell the public what stocks and bonds they hold just twice a year. But two fund firms under investigation for improper trading are voluntarily increasing their disclosure.

Starting Dec. 31, Denver-based Janus Capital Group (JNS ) will release most of its funds' holdings each month at www.janus.com. That's up from a frequency of every quarter. The only Janus funds to be excluded are sector and concentrated funds, which tend to be more volatile. And One Group Mutual Funds recently joined the 54% of all fund complexes that report holdings quarterly. Check at onegroup.com.

Both firms are acting in advance of the Securities & Exchange Commission, which in January is expected to adopt a rule requiring quarterly disclosure for all funds. The reports would appear at www.sec.gov.

By Lauren Young


Boomers Beware

It's not just the bear market that has taken a toll on baby boomers' retirement dreams. Now, it turns out, the "me generation" will be getting less than predicted from Mom and Pop as well. Over the past decade, many economists have forecast total boomer inheritances of as much as $10 trillion, which works out to an average windfall of $135,000 per person. That's a far cry from what they've been getting thus far -- a mere $47,909 (the median, in 2002 dollars), according to a new study from AARP, an organization of older Americans. "For most people, inheritances will remain an elusive, or small, contributor to retirement security," says the study, which draws on data published by the Federal Reserve.

Why are the bequests falling short of predictions? Among the reasons: The parents of boomers are retiring earlier and living longer than expected. Their children are getting the message, according to the report. Only about 27% have received or even think they'll receive an inheritance -- down from 37% in 1989. If they plan a lush retirement, they're going to have to fund it themselves.

By Anne Tergesen


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A Museum For Big Birds

The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum finally has space to display its big aviation artifacts. On Dec. 15 it opens the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on the edge of Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The facility will house 143 large aircraft, including the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima (www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy).



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