Dear Tax Talk:
Can I roll over money from my traditional IRA to a money market account without tax consequences? I don't plan on touching the money. I just want to move it to a location less vulnerable than the stock market, like a money market fund because this will be more stable. I will turn 58 this year. Thank you in advance for your help.
--Larry

Dear Larry,
It is understandable that you would want to change your investment strategy. As we age, our investment time-frame changes, decreasing our tolerance for risk.

When you're in your 30s, your investment time frame for retirement savings is probably well over 20 years. This will allow you to recover from most downturns in the stock market. At 58 years of age, you may be thinking of early retirement and want to be assured your capital will remain intact. Hence,

BEIJING (AP) -- Grocery shopping has become a painful experience for Zhang Xueyi. Meat prices have risen 50 percent in the past year, and eggs and other products are not far behind, forcing the 31-year-old railway technician's family to spend a third of its $400 monthly income on food.

"If prices go up more, we have to pay. We'll cut back somewhere else," said Zhang as he hefted bags of eggs, vegetables and rice from the market down a narrow Beijing lane.

After a run that has seen sizzling growth top 10 percent for four years, analysts say China's supercharged economy is facing strains that could break out into an upsurge of inflation.

So far the worst damage has been confined to food prices, which jumped 15.4 percent in July over the same month a year ago and drove overall inflation to a decade-high 5.6 percent. But wages are rising too, as are the costs of oil and electric power. Record-setting exports and a stock market boom are sending cash flooding through the economy, stoking demand for goods.

The Chinese economy "might have entered a region where we should be on guard," said a central bank official, Zhang Tao, quoted last week by the state

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) - Legendary investor Warren Buffett's company bought another 1.4 million shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. this week to gain control of nearly 12 percent of the United States' number two railroad.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. revealed its two latest railroad stock purchases in documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday.

Both classes of Berkshire's stock gained more than 4 percent Friday to set new 52-week highs. Berkshire Class A shares, which are the most expensive U.S. stock, gained $4,750, or 4.2 percent, to close at $118,500 Friday before the filing was released. Its Class B shares gained $156.50, or 4.1 percent, to close at $3,948.

Amid this week's market turmoil, Berkshire appears to have found some deals. The company bought 900,800 shares for $76.50 apiece on Thursday and 500,700 shares for $78.96 on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Berkshire paid $80.40 for 1.1 million shares of Burlington Northern.

Berkshire said three of its more than 60 subsidiaries now own 42.05 million shares of Burlington Northern, which represent 11.9 percent of the Texas-based

We could argue all day about whether kids need credit cards. The concept of need is pretty subjective, especially when it comes to kids -- one day they'll claim to "need" a new iPod, and the next, it's trendy kicks or the latest game system. But many parents and their progeny are already sold on the benefits of plastic (especially for emergencies), making them ripe pickings for bad-guy credit card companies. Don't let yourself or your child fall prey to one of the lousy lenders.

Before you even venture into looking at specific credit card offers, you'll want to consider:

1. Your own risk tolerance,

2. Your child's spending habits (and level of responsibility), and

3. Why you want your child to have a card.

If your child has low impulse control and the card is to be used only for emergencies, consider a secured credit card: one that is backed by money you

The past few weeks haven't been fun for investors. Worries over the subprime lending market have sent the market into a nosedive. While some observers have predicted an imminent pullback for a while now, the market's rapid, deep plunge is enough to panic any rational investor. But in this environment, Fools should stay strong, and avoid the mistake so many others are making right this minute.

Running scared
When stocks head south like they have in recent weeks, the logical response is to dump your stocks and head for the hills. No one wants to watch hard-earned money eaten away by uncontrollable market forces. In this situation, it feels right to do something; just watching from the sidelines can be agonizing. But when investors do take action, they almost always run away from the market.

In fact, for the week ending Wednesday, Aug. 15, mutual fund investors withdrew almost $20 billion from their funds, marking the single largest week of outflows in more than six years. Of this $20 billion figure, almost $13 billion came from funds invested primarily in domestic equity securities. This week's

For investors, there is one must read annual report, regardless if you own the stock or not, and that is Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) for the letter from its Chairman Warren Buffet. In light of the current market turmoil, it is instructive to look at what Buffet was saying five years ago.

The situation he described regarding the large amount of derivative exposure has, of course, grown exponentially larger since he wrote it, but his words then have resonance today. The chickens that he warned of in his 2002 Annual report appear to be coming home to roost.

Charlie and I are of one mind in how we feel about derivatives and the trading activities that go with them: We view them as time bombs, both for the parties that deal in them and the economic system.

...

Charlie and I believe, however, that the macro picture is dangerous and getting more so. Large amounts of risk, particularly credit risk, have become concentrated in the hands of relatively few derivatives dealers, who in addition trade extensively with one other. The troubles of one could quickly infect the

TIRANA, Albania (AP) -- Josif Poro pats his new sofa, points with pride to his carpets and runs a wrinkled hand over a gleaming white refrigerator. He and his wife barely scrape by on their $220 monthly pension. They'd have to do without many of the items in their cramped apartment if their son, a factory worker in Greece, didn't faithfully send home part of his earnings.

"We call him our golden boy," said Poro, 83, a retired textile mill worker.

Around the world, millions of immigrants are sending billions of dollars back home.

One sweaty wad of bills or $200 Western Union moneygram at a time, they form what could be called Immigration, Inc. -- one of the biggest businesses on the planet.

Experts tracking the phenomenon told The Associated Press they have gotten a much clearer picture since the 9/11 attacks, when authorities trying to cut