IBT Staff Reporter

Are you losing money in your tax-deferred 401(k) and IRA accounts? Here's a thought that may add to your pain: If you held those same investments outside of a retirement fund, you could be using them now to cut your taxes. Instead, you'll wait years, rebuild your balances, and pay full income taxes on every penny that you use -- possibly at higher tax rates than you're looking at now.

European and Asian stock markets fell on Monday as worries continue about a possible U.S. recession that could affect other leading markets. Asia's losses were led by China's Shanghai composite Index which plummeted to close down more than 7 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was off 2 percent in early afternoon trading. U.S. stocks were set to open lower.

Research In Motion has leapt into the retail consumer market with products such as its pink BlackBerry Pearl, a candybar-shaped e-mail phone stuffed with multimedia goodies, exposing itself to shoppers' fickle tastes and competition from Apple Inc's iPhone.

The junior financial trader accused of making huge unauthorized trades leading to a loss of 4.9 billion euros ($7.1 billion) at France's Societe Generale Bank was being held in police custody in Paris for questioning, according to media reports.

Millions of fingers scurrying over mobile electronic devices probably paused this week as news emerged of a trove of text messages containing flirty and sexually explicit chat between Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a top aide. Even those engaging in more wholesome dialogue would be wise to wonder: Do text messages disappear _ like oral conversations _ or are they permanently logged somewhere for potential retrieval _ like e-mail usually is?

How often have you sat on losses, in the hope that fortune will shine and turn your shortfalls into gains?

The panicky rate cuts shows how limited its options are

Wall Street banks face a big challenge: a U.S. economy on the edge of recession

Gold and platinum prices surged to new records on Friday on deteriorating electricity shortages in South Africa, a top producer of the precious metals, increased the supply demand.

Crude oil climbed on Friday as U.S. officials moved quickly to advance an economic stimulus package, diminishing fears of an economic recession in the U.S.

As the Britney Spears debacle continues to unfold daily on tabloids around the world, a new study estimates she is worth a staggering $120 million to the US economy.

The dollar gained against the euro on Friday on speculation that the Federal Reserve may not make an aggressive move to lower interest rates when it meets next Tuesday.

The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a huge revolution, Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday.

Baidu.com Inc led China's search engine market in last year's fourth quarter with a 60.1 percent share, research firm Analysys International said on Friday.

The grieving family of the Hollywood actor Heath Ledger said Our hearts are broken in a death notice published in an Australian newspaper.

Higher interest rates, a rising yuan and stock market volatility pose stiff challenges for Chinese insurance companies, the industry regulator said on Friday.

Mizuho Financial Group will join forces with India's top bank, State Bank of India, on syndicated loans and other areas, as Japan's second-largest lender looks to capitalize on the growing Indian economy.

India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd posted an unexpected net loss for the December quarter as it wrote off $60 million of costs for its underperforming German unit and saw revenues decline.

Dunkin' Donuts said on Friday it plans to open its first shop in Shanghai this spring as part of its move into the Chinese market.

Nissan Motor has been hurt less by the yen's strength than other companies, thanks to its strategy of producing cars for the U.S. market locally, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said on Friday.

Blackstone Group LP, the U.S. private equity company, is setting up a $675 million fund to invest in Brazil and will contribute $500 million in capital, the Valor Economico newspaper said on Friday.

Citigroup Inc awarded Chief Executive Vikram Pandit $26.7 million of shares and 3 million stock options, six weeks after he took over the largest U.S. bank, and a week after reporting a record $9.83 billion quarterly loss.

Wall Street banks battered by mortgage and credit losses survived 2007 only to face an even bigger challenge: a U.S. economy on the edge of recession.

Business leaders said they were aghast by the culture of banking and its excesses following revelations that a trader at French bank Societe Generale had lost $7 billion through possible fraud.

U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs plans to release about 5 percent of its global workforce in coming months, a company spokesman said on Friday.

Heath Ledgers relatives are expected to arrive from Australia on Friday as they prepare for the funeral of the son they refer to as the most amazing 'old soul' in a young man's body.

U.S. Stocks moved towards a higher opening on Friday, buoyed by strong earnings from Microsoft and a quick decision to implement a U.S. economic stimulus package boosted investors confidence. Following the biggest global stocks rally in two and a half years on Thursday, U.S. stocks are set to make their first string of three consecutive days of gains since December, and first weekly rise in five weeks.

Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards will be the industry's first red-carpet event in this strike-fractured awards season, and even the prospect of heavy rain hasn't dampened the enthusiasm.

Egypt began closing its breached border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, using barbed wire and water cannons to keep Palestinians from leaving the Hamas-controlled territory in defiance of an Israeli blockade.