Personal Finance Daily: Health law without mandate may hike costs

	Personal Finance Daily JUNE 13, 2012 Wednesday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Health law without mandate may hike costs The 10 most expensive cities in the world Why mortgage rates should be lower Mortgage-application volume up 30% last week: MBA The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision as early as next week on the Affordable Care Act. Kristen Gerencher writes in her Vital Signs column about the potential fallout from that decision, focusing on the individual mandate, the requirement for individuals to buy health insurance if they don't already have it (with subsidies if they can't afford it) or face a financial penalty starting in 2014. She also reports that some of the nation's biggest insurers aren't waiting for the court ruling, but are already deciding which provisions of the law they would keep. Also now on MarketWatch, we report on the annual Mercer global cost-of-living survey, with a slide show of the most expensive cities in the world. Thanks in part to currency-exchange rates, London and Paris are cheaper this year. But Japan has three cities in the top 10. Most expensive? Tokyo. On Mercer's list of 214 cities, Karachi in Pakistan is the cheapest for expatriates — less than one-third as costly as Tokyo. — Anne Stanley , managing editor, Personal Finance Health law without mandate may hike costs If the Supreme Court throws out a central part of the health-reform law later this month, it is likely to disrupt but not totally derail changes to the medical and insurance system that are already under way. It also may mean higher premium costs. Read more: Health law without mandate may hike costs. The 10 most expensive cities in the world Tokyo and Osaka are among the costliest cities in the world for expatriates, but currency fluctuations against the U.S. dollar helped push costs down in many European cities, including London, Paris and Dublin, according to a survey that compares 214 locales. Slide show: The 10 most expensive cities in the world. REAL ESTATE Why mortgage rates should be lower A tax perk aimed at helping homeowners ends up raising mortgage rates, research shows. Read more: Why mortgage rates should be lower. Mortgage-application volume up 30% last week: MBA The number of total mortgage applications filed in the United States last week jumped 30% from the prior week, the Mortgage Bankers Association says. Read more: Mortgage-application volume up 30% last week: MBA. INVESTING Analysts reward J&J outlook with upgrades A trio of analysts on Wednesday upgraded Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares and cited enthusiasm for quicker profits than expected from the health-care firm's just-approved buyout of Swiss device maker Synthes. Read more: Analysts reward J&J outlook with upgrades. Dimon's testimony to affect bank-breakup debate Lawmakers will grill J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) chief Jamie Dimon over how the largest U.S. bank was able to retain trading losses of more than $2 billion, and could be enough to push policy makers to break up large financial institutions. Read more: Dimon's testimony to affect bank-breakup debate. The case for buy-and-hold investing The indexed investor hangs on when stocks are heading south because doing so is in his best interests. Read more: The case for buy and hold investing. ECONOMY & POLITICS The optimism gap in America There is a persistent optimism gap between baby boomers and the younger millennial generation. Millennials, as has been reported many places, are full of optimism despite coming of age in a difficult economy. Read more: The optimism gap in America. The opus for the Beekeeper Bandit One minute a well-liked music teacher is an upstanding member of a community. The next he is an accused felon. Read more: The opus for the Beekeeper Bandit. U.S. producer prices plummet 1% in May Wholesale prices fell 1.0% in May after seasonal adjustments with energy prices falling 4.3%, the Labor Department says. Year-over-year prices rose 0.7%, the smallest change since October 2009. Read more: U.S. producer prices plummet 1% in May. May retail sales fall as gas purchases tumble U.S. retail sales fall 0.2% in May for the second month in a row — the first time that's happened in two years — as consumers spend less to fill their gas tanks. Read more: May retail sales fall as gas purchases tumble. Switzerland's 'Katrina moment' looms In times of crisis, it's useful to think of international capital flows as floodwaters, or as mudslides. Read more: Switzerland's 'Katrina moment' looms. How tiny Finland could bring euro crisis to end It's easy to analyze what went wrong with the euro, but it's more difficult to predict how it will end. Columnist Matthew Lynn says the crisis may move from Spain to Italy to tiny Finland. Read more: How tiny Finland could bring euro crisis to end. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2012 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. 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