Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Biz bits

By wire services
Published October 9, 2005

THE INCOME GAP keeps widening, and it plays no political favorites, Forbes says in its annual edition on the 400 richest Americans. "The reality is that measured inequality has been rising steadily for close to 30 years and hit successive new highs in the Carter, Reagan, elder Bush and Clinton administrations before doing exactly the same thing under the younger Bush." Based on census data for 2004, half of all U.S. family income goes to 20 percent of the population. The increase in female-headed households, which tend to be poorer, and in two-income households, which are more affluent, may be factors, as are the decline of labor unions and wage cuts by business.

THERE'S TROUBLE in the paradise of second homes, Smart Money reports. "In a skyrocketing real estate market, second homes have seemed like a sure bet - until now. From Tahoe to Cape Cod, a glut in vacation properties has hurt rental income and home values. Some second-home owners are having second thoughts." Homes bought as income property are especially vulnerable, with rising taxes and falling demand. A sudden exit by lots of owners would turn the vacation housing boom into "an ugly bust," the magazine says.

AMERICANS LONG HAVE VIEWED 65 as the age to retire, but experts say that's about to change. Baby boomers need to be handled differently as 65 creeps up, according to J. Howard & Associates, a Boston consulting group. Boomers aren't looking to retire, and may not want to relinquish their relatively sizable salaries, gained through seniority, said Gerry Lupacchino, vice president of Novations/J. Howard. "Unless accommodations are made, corporate America is headed into a time of unprecedented age-related complaints and lawsuits," he said.

WHO SAYS entrepreneurs have to work harder than corporate employees to succeed? Fortune Small Business says a study shows nearly a third of small-business owners may work more than 60 hours a week, but they can control when and where they work. The magazine profiles 14 entrepreneurs who use clever time management, delegation and wireless gadgets to get away from the office. Their leisurely pursuits include martial arts, hiking, off-road racing, roller coaster riding, working with disabled kids, flying vintage planes, playing polo and restoring antique cars.

WORRIED ABOUT THE PRICE of natural gas this winter? Try using a wood stove, Kiplinger's Personal Finance suggests. "Today's models are definitely not the primitive iron boxes of yesteryear. Current stoves meet EPA standards for emissions by burning wood fire gases more completely. Your neighbors might not even see smoke rising from your chimney." Kiplinger's cites a number of models selling for $1,300 to $2,600.

Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 20:32:02]