Personal Finance Daily: The long-term-care conundrum

Personal Finance Daily NOVEMBER 10, 2011 The long-term-care conundrum By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Long-term-care costs: What's next? 30-year mortgage falls below 4% again More mothers stay on the job through pregnancy Foreclosures jump 7% in October from September Black Friday fervor begins earlier than ever About 70% of us will need help eating, bathing and dressing at some point in our lives, but Medicare doesn't cover the cost of that care. Few people purchase long-term-care insurance, and most Americans don't have enough money saved for their retirement, let alone nursing-home costs. So who's going to pay? For many, it ends up being family — until, perhaps, Medicaid kicks in. The Class Act might have helped a little bit, but now that's dead. Read Robert Powell's column for a look at what are the likely options for dealing with this looming cost as baby boomers age. Already, one of Bob's sources says, people are missing out on much-needed care. One idea to deal with this issue: allocating a portion of our Social Security benefits to nursing-home costs, for those who need such care. Read Bob's story for more. Plus, don't miss all the real-estate news, including a look at the jump in foreclosure filings in October versus September, and the drop in the average interest rate for a 30-year-fixed mortgage. — Andrea Coombes , Personal Finance editor Long-term-care costs: What's next? The Class Act is dead, and that's going to create problems not just for the seven in 10 seniors who eventually will need help eating and dressing, but for their unpaid family caregivers and a whole lot of other Americans as well. There are ways to pay for long-term care, but only if we act soon. Read more: Long-term-care costs: What's next? More mothers stay on the job through pregnancy More first-time mothers are working late into their pregnancy and then returning to the office soon after giving birth, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau. Read more: More mothers stay on the job through pregnancy. 30-year mortgage falls below 4% again Average interest rates charged on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages drop below the 4% mark for the second time this year, Freddie Mac's latest data show. Read more: 30-year mortgage falls below 4% again. Foreclosures jump 7% in October from September Foreclosure activity rose 7% in October compared with September, a sign that lenders are picking up the pace after foreclosure-processing problems caused delays, RealtyTrac reports. Read more: Foreclosures jump 7% in October from September. Jobless claims fall to seven-month low of 390,000 The number of Americans who filed new applications for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven months, according to government data that show the slowly improving conditions in the labor market. Read more: Jobless claims fall to seven-month low of 390,000. HOLIDAY SHOPPING Black Friday fervor begins earlier than ever In what's expected to be an intense fight for consumers' wallets this holiday season, retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are opening their doors and releasing deals earlier than ever to get attention in the traditional kickoff to the holiday-shopping season. Read more: Black Friday fervor begins earlier than ever. Wal-Mart steals Thanksgiving Replacing stuffing with stuff, retailers have finally broken through one of the last walls of the holidays. Read more: Wal-Mart steals Thanksgiving. INVESTING Know your investing 'comfort zone' Tammy is a 24-year-old college graduate who wants to start saving. Her problem is that everything she has read about investing tells her that she doesn't have enough to save successfully for the rest of her life. Read more: Know your investing 'comfort zone.' Is it 1973 all over again? Wednesday's bad break has the bears bugalooing, but Peter Brimelow reports that one judicious bull is standing firm. Read more: Is it 1973 all over again? Still too early to write the book on Steve Jobs A panel of tech veterans shared their stories of working with the Apple Inc. (AAPL) co-founder. But it's still too soon to know what his legacy will really entail. Read more: Still too early to write the book on Steve Jobs. ECONOMY & POLITICS U.S. starts fiscal 2012 with $98 billion shortfall The government posts a budget deficit of $98 billion in October, the Treasury Department says, beginning its new fiscal year with a shortfall but marking an improvement compared with the same month last year. Read more: U.S. starts fiscal 2012 with $98 billion shortfall. Big hedge-fund manager chides Dodd-Frank A top hedge-fund manager criticizes huge swaths of the Dodd-Frank law implemented in the wake of the financial crisis, arguing that it enshrines banks as "too big to fail" and puts impossible obligations on regulators. Read more: Big hedge fund manager chides Dodd-Frank. Fed has latitude to set inflation goal: Bernanke Federal Reserve policy makers "have considerable latitude" to choose its long-term inflation goal, Chairman Ben Bernanke says in what may hint at a future change in the central bank's communication strategy. Read more: Fed has latitude to set inflation goal: Bernanke. U.S. trade gap narrows on record exports The nation's trade deficit for September narrows as exports hit new record highs and imports stagnate. The deficit of $43.1 billion was the smallest since December, with the narrowing likely to provide a boost to U.S. GDP. Read more: U.S. trade gap narrows on record exports. Import prices tumble in October Import prices saw the biggest drop in four months in October as declining costs of natural gas, copper, fruit and other items offset rising prices of imported consumer goods and cars, according to government data released Thursday. Read more: Import prices tumble in October. INTERNATIONAL NEWS 'Swearing out' for U.S. citizens held in Toronto A new kind of American citizenship ceremony has begun taking place. But this one is far different than the stirring patriotic scenes we're used to seeing on TV news. Read more: 'Swearing out' for U.S. citizens held in Toronto. China's trade data point to global slowdown China's trade surplus widened in October, though by less than economists had expected, as more of the nation's export destinations showed a slowing in demand. Read more: China's trade data point to global slowdown. Momentum for Monti as Italy scrambles Mario Monti, an economist and former European Union commissioner, emerges as the front-runner to succeed Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as Italy scrambles to save itself from financial collapse. Read more: Momentum for Monti as Italy scrambles. Ex-ECB official Papademos is new Greek PM Greece names former vice president of the European Central Bank Lucas Papademos as its new prime minister. Read more: Ex-ECB official Papademos is new Greek PM. Papandreou: Lessons from a Greek tragedy Though he arrived in office with a comfortable parliamentary majority, Greek Prime Minister Papandreou failed to show resolve and consistency. He would be the first to concede that he should not be counted among history's heroes. But Amotz Asa-El argues that his public admission that his country's books had been cooked before he took office was a huge and politically courageous step. Read more: Papandreou: Lessons from a Greek tragedy. 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