Employers are looking for products to mitigate that inflationary trend.

A good documentation trail and good content will help you down the road with unexpected liability.

The medium does convey a large part of the message. There is a ladder of emotional temperature attached to communications, and e-mail tend to the coldest of the lot.

I hope what Bill says pans out. So often companies make proclamations and move on. I'm hoping, even praying, that it comes to fruition.

The combined company will be stronger from a distribution and product standpoint. Nevertheless, we do not expect the merger of the two companies to alleviate the pressures from low fixed product sales and the challenging interest-rate environment.

Whether it's the courts or regional offices of executive agencies, members of Congress want some control over how things are done in their states or districts. As long as they have some influence over the picks, they like the patronage system.