Rebates are a double-edged sword. They look wonderful when you see the price of the item you're buying with the rebate price included, but they can end up costing you money if you don't follow through and actually receive the rebate.

It's only a great price if you actually get the rebate amount refunded to you. If it is a large purchase, such as a computer system, this can be the difference between several hundred dollars in your bank account or down the drain.

According to BusinessWeek, almost a third of all computers and gadgets now are sold with some type of rebate attached, with one-fifth of all digital cameras, camcorders and LCD TVs having some type of rebate. Not all consumers take advantage of these rebates. In 2005, an estimated 40% were never redeemed for a variety of reasons, and this added an extra $2 billion to the retailers' and manufacturers' bottom line.

While the process for getting a rebate may seem pretty straightforward, it doesn't always work that way. The Federal Trade Commission set up a study about rebate programs in April, in part because "many consumers have had negative experiences with rebates and have begun to distrust them." There was even a recent instance where a computer parts supplier in California simply dumped 1,300 rebate

A small Michigan insurer is trying a novel way to woo young, healthy people who lack health insurance: let them buy lots of coverage after they get sick.

American Community Mutual Insurance Co. is rolling out an unusual two-tier coverage plan today that would give policyholders struck by serious illness or accidents the option of adding $5 million of coverage.

Signing up individuals is critical to insurance-industry growth as more employers quit providing company-paid health benefits, and carriers are eager to limit big claims by courting the 40% of uninsured who are 19 to 34 years old and healthy -- the fastest-growing segment of uninsured Americans.

Industry experts say they have never seen a policy like American Community's, introduced in Texas today under the name "Coverage on Demand." A similar plan will be rolled out early next year in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri as "Pay-As-You-Go." Overall, the company hopes to offer this product line in more than 13 states within the next year.

Here's how it works: A consumer buys one of three limited-benefit plans -- called Tempo, Rhythm or Groove -- with annual benefit caps of $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000, respectively. Deductibles range from nothing to $500. The cost of the plan for a healthy 25-year-old man in Dallas, for example, would be $88 to $95 a month, the company says.

The twist comes when a person gets seriously ill or hurt and exceeds the modest benefit cap. Under Coverage on Demand, policyholders can pay a lump-sum annual "activation" premium of $9,000 to

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose Tuesday as investors, heartened by upbeat earnings, awaited the Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates. The Dow Jones industrials rose about 100 points.

Wall Street's focus will be the central bank when it issues its decision on rates and its accompanying economic statement at 2:15 p.m. EDT. The slumping housing market, tightening credit market and volatile stocks have given investors reason to believe that monetary policy is in need of some loosening.

Most in the market expect either a quarter-point cut in the benchmark federal funds rate or a half-point cut, given last month's decline in jobs and weakening retail sales. Equally important is how the Fed characterizes the housing, credit and stock markets' drag on the U.S. economy, and if it suggests there are more rate reductions to come.

As investors waited for the central bank's decision, they were pleased to see economic and corporate data come in better than expected. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the nation's fourth-largest investment bank, posted a smaller-than-anticipated 3 percent decline in third-quarter profit compared to a year ago. Lehman is the first of the major U.S. brokerages to report earnings from the most recent, tumultuous quarter.

The Labor Department's August producer price index was also more favorable than the market predicted. Wholesale prices fell 1.4 percent last month, the biggest decline in 10 months and led by a 6.6 percent

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices climbed to a fresh high above $81 a barrel amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut a key interest rate later Tuesday, a move the market believes would bolster the economy and strengthen petroleum demand in the world's largest energy consumer.

Investors expect the Fed to cut the benchmark federal funds rate at least a quarter point to 5 percent to ease pressure on the U.S. credit market.

"The market will be waiting to see how much the Fed cuts interest rates and whether its statement indicates that there may be further rate cuts or not, and those will affect perceptions of the U.S. economy and the demand for oil," said David Moore, commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

"The background picture is one of tight oil markets. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration has shown declining oil inventories in recent weeks," Moore said. Oil inventories are falling in the U.S. but remain at record levels.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose as high as $81.18 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before retreating slightly to $81.04, up 47 cents, midmorning in Singapore.

The contract on Monday jumped as high as $80.70 a barrel in intraday trading before settling at a record

Gold and gold stocks are up. But is this a good time to invest in gold?

Back in 1999, the price of gold hit a 20-year low of around $250 an ounce. For the next two years, it stayed below $300.

A bull run began in the first half of 2001. Gold reached $720 in 2006. It remains over $700 an ounce.

Gold may have more upside potential. The price is still well below its 1980 peak of $850.

Gold can play a role in a diversified portfolio. The price of gold is usually not correlated to the price of stocks. When they're disconnected, gold commonly moves in the opposite direction of equities. So gold often rises when stocks sink.

Still, both gold and U.S. stocks are rising. But the U.S. dollar has been weakening. That makes the metal, typically denominated in dollars, cheaper to buy in other currencies. Gold is also a haven from weakness in