Personal Finance Daily: Your high-tech gift: Keep it or return it?

	Personal Finance Daily DECEMBER 27, 2012 Thursday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Your high-tech gift: Keep it or return it? New-home sales hit 2 ½-year high Trapped in your job? Here's help from health law Estate planning to care for your pets We hope Santa Claus was good to your family this year, but we also know that he can sometimes be clueless, especially about technology. (After all, if he knew how to program a GPS, he wouldn't need Rudolph.) Quentin Fottrell looks at five popular high-tech holiday gifts to help you decide whether to keep them or take them to the returns department. Also in today's Personal Finance Daily, Andrea Coombes looks at whether the Obamacare health reforms could help some older workers transition into jobs they like better. And Jeffry Bartash reveals which parts of the country might be getting a belated holiday gift in the form of a housing-market recovery — Matthew Heimer , senior editor Your high-tech gift: Keep it or return it? About $63 billion worth of holiday gifts will be taken back to stores this year. Should your new tablet or camera join the back-to-the-mall exodus? New-home sales hit 2 1/2-year high Economists saw signs of a solidifying housing recovery, but not all parts of the country are feeling the benefits. Trapped in your job? Here's help from health law The Obama health-care overhaul could help workers in their 50s and early 60s get better insurance, and break out of "job lock." Retire Here, Not There: South Carolina Affordable Southern charm and sandy beaches, without the Florida crowds. Estate planning to care for your pets Writing Fido into your will isn't just for the Leona Helmsleys of the world. The right planning can help you make sure your pets don't get neglected after your demise. ECONOMY AND POLITICS Fiscal-cliff concerns sink consumers' expectations Concerns about what would happen without action on a budget deal likely spiked consumers' expectations for the economy in the short term, sending overall confidence levels lower in December, according to Conference Board data. U.S. jobless claims fall 12,000 to 350,000 First-time filings fall more than forecast for last week, but the decline may have been exaggerated by the Christmas holiday. Still, the one-month average of claims stands at the lowest since March 2008. Trim government to empower the Chinese: Andy Xie Future growth is tied to increased productivity, which can only be brought about if the governing structure is changed to let market forces operate, Andy Xie writes in a column for Caixin Online. COMMENTARY On fiscal cliff: Don't negotiate, let's legislate It's high time we locked the members of Congress in a room and told them that we'll let them out when they reach a deal on the fiscal cliff, writes Rex Nutting. Euro crisis may lead to 'explosion of violence' The brinksmanship by Angela Merkel and other leaders in the euro crisis carries considerable risk of a downward spiral that could end in an "explosion of violence," writes Darrell Delamaide. ' Obama can resolve cliff by backing his 2011 plan The economy will go over the fiscal cliff unless President Obama returns to his 2011 offer to raise additional revenue without raising tax rates, writes Diana Furchtgott-Roth. 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. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111