Free Help for Untangling the Web
Did some thoughtful soul give you Internet access for the holidays? If so, there’s great news. Sprynet is sponsoring a series of free classes that can help you learn everything from Web basics to creative writing.
The classes, offered by Spectrum Virtual University at https://horizons.org, are held in cyberspace via Web browsers and e-mail. They’ll start in the second week of January, but the registration deadline is 9 p.m. Jan. 10. Several classes have limitations on how many people can sign up. So, if you’re interested, sign up in a hurry. It’s first-come, first-served.
What’s offered?
A personal computer basics class covers the gamut, from figuring out how your modem works to understanding what random access memory is all about. It decodes those cryptic error messages. And, if you’re thinking about upgrading, the class can help you determine what bells and whistles are worth buying.
Other offerings will lead you through Internet basics, from primers on how to use Web browsers to exploring the Internet on your own. There’s also a class on building your own Web page, and one on “fun things to do on the Net.” In addition, there’s a creative writing class and self-help courses, including one called “Converting Crisis Into Creation,” which offers steps to combat compulsive and self-destructive behavior.
Dreary Prognosis for 1997: Wondering what the future holds for the stock market? Some 53% of the 259 brokers and financial advisors surveyed by MBIA Insurance Corp., a leading municipal bond insurance company, expect a significant market drop to come within six months. The bulk predicted that the Dow Jones industrial average will end 1997 about 9% below the market’s all-time high set in 1996.
In addition, an increasing number of brokers say their clients will be looking for yield and safety over capital appreciation next year.
Does that mean you should get out of the stock market? Hardly. For thirtysomethings, brokers still advise that you maintain roughly 82% of your assets in stocks. Those in the 40-year-old age range should have about 70% in stocks, while a 60-year-old investor should maintain about a 50-50 ratio of stocks and fixed-income investments.
In other words, despite anticipated “corrections,” the stock market is expected to follow historic patterns and handily beat the performance of other types of investments over long periods of time. If you’ve got a long time until you need your money, tomorrow’s market activity is trivial.
Web and Win: Westcore Funds of Denver has launched a contest on its Web page at https://www.westcore.com that involves taking a 10-question quiz. Those who answer all the questions correctly are entered in a drawing to win $1,000 worth of shares in the Westcore fund of their choice.
Financial acumen is not required. All the answers are provided somewhere in the Web site. The fund company, which offers eight no-load mutual funds, is using the contest to get you to cruise all the way through their Web site.
On a similar note, Liberty Financial, sponsor of the Young Investors Fund, launched a Web site to teach kids about money. The site, at https://www.younginvestor.com, includes games, advice and information.
IRA Information: Several changes to the nation’s retirement laws were passed late last year in a flurry of legislative activity. These laws boost the amount that nonworking spouses can contribute to individual retirement accounts, provide a window to withdraw so-called excess distributions from pensions and allow for penalty-free early withdrawals from IRA accounts when the money is used to pay for certain medical expenses.
These changes, widely supported by mutual fund companies, are explained in more detail in November’s Financial Focus newsletter, provided to participants in the AARP Investment Program by Scudder Stevens & Clark, a major mutual fund company. Scudder is also providing the newsletter free to other interested parties. To get a copy, call (800) 424-2430, ext. 8934.
Consumer Checklist is a weekly feature that covers a range of pocketbook issues of interest to Californians. To contribute information about new legislation, products, services or surveys, write to Kathy M. Kristof, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com
