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By wire services
Published April 3, 2005

THE FEDERAL RESERVE may be talking too freely about what it does, BusinessWeek says. It started in summer 2003 when the country faced a deflationary downturn. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan gave investors specific information about future monetary policy, saying interest rates would be low for a "considerable period." But the magazine says what started as a well-meaning attempt to be helpful "has degenerated into a muddled message that has sown confusion in financial markets and helped fan fears of higher inflation among investors." The biggest fear, it says, is that the Fed's interest rate strategy has backfired, overheating the economy and setting the stage for revived inflation.

REASONS FOR BUYING second homes have expanded beyond wanting a vacation retreat. One new trend is purchases of what real estate experts are calling "event" homes. That includes, for example, avid college football fan alumni who buy condos in their former college town so they have a place to stay when they return for football weekends.

MAJOR CORPORATE CRISES don't just happen, strategy plus business says. "When a corporation finds itself embroiled in a major crisis and spinning out of control, hindsight usually reveals a series of events leading up to the incident," Robert Mittelstaedt Jr. writes in the quarterly. Researchers have found certain factors in a corporation's culture that influenced the leaders' behavior, leading to disaster: myopia ("We've always done everything right"), hubris ("We deserve rewards for being so much smarter") and egocentricity ("We'll ask when we want employees' ideas").

TWO STAPLES of financial advice have some stock market recommendations for a nervous market. Smart Money says biotech stocks "have been firing on all cylinders" while big blue chip drug stocks like Pfizer and Merck have stalled. Kiplinger's Personal Finance says that limiting your stock picks "to a few burgeoning industries" can help your portfolio. It recommends chemicals, railroads, oil supply companies, the media (including Yahoo and Google) and medical devices.

IN THIS ERA of crazy workloads and tight deadlines, getting out of the office for more than a day or two can be a colossal hassle for many workers. Some people even work on their vacations - out of necessity, guilt or both - and that's no way to relax and recharge. Londa Della, an office "protocol adviser" for office supply company Quill Corp., says it's necessary to completely unplug and relax during vacation so that the time away will refresh you and leave you an even more important player in the operation.

Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.

[Last modified April 3, 2005, 00:09:18]