Investors don't have to know financial jargon to be informed

The average investor lives somewhere between "Ignorance is bliss" and "Knowledge is power," and is unsure of just how far they want to go in either direction.

What's more, there's a serious debate in the financial services business about whether an investor should be tilted toward those extremes, or should settle comfortably in the middle.

For proof, consider two recent and very different studies of investors, one concerning knowledge and its ability to provide and create control, and the other about surrendering control, presumably due to a lack of knowledge. When juxtaposed, the two studies make for an intriguing landscape, giving investors food for thought about just what position they want to assume on the financial horizon.

AARP Financial's "MoneySmarts" survey released last week determined that investors are lost in financial jargon. More than 40% of the 1,200-plus people surveyed said that information from financial services providers is "not so [helpful] or not at all helpful."

In addition, more than half of the respondents said they do not read financial literature because "it's too hard to understand." Almost four out of five respondents said they have an easier time understanding

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures blasted to a new record near $123 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages. Retail gas prices edged lower, but appear poised to rise to new records of their own in coming weeks.

A new Goldman Sachs prediction that oil prices could rise to $150 to $200 within two years seemed to motivate much of Tuesday's buying, although a falling dollar and increasing concerns about declining crude production in Mexico and Russia contributed, analysts say.

The Energy Department raised its oil and gasoline price forecasts, but also predicted that high prices will cut demand more than previously thought.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new record of $122.73 a barrel before retreating to settle up $1.87 at a record $121.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices have nearly doubled from about $62 a barrel a year ago, which Goldman sees as a sign that the world is in the midst of a "super spike" in oil prices. Analyst Arjun Murti said in a research note released Monday that prices would ultimately force demand to fall sharply.

Not everyone shares Goldman's view. Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., countered Goldman's analysis with a note predicting that crude prices could as easily fall to $40 a barrel as rise to $200 over the

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Cisco Systems Inc.'s profit fell 5 percent in its fiscal third quarter but beat Wall Street's expectations, a sign the turbulent U.S. economy didn't rattle the world's largest networking equipment maker as hard as expected.

The San Jose-based company reported Tuesday it earned $1.77 billion, or 29 cents per share, during the three months ended April 26. That represents a drop of 5.4 percent from the $1.87 billion, or 30 cents per share, that Cisco earned during the same period a year ago.

Stripping out 9 cents per share in one-time charges for acquisition and employee stock-based compensation, Cisco earned 38 cents per share. That's 2 cents per share above the average estimate on the same basis from analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Sales were also higher than analysts' subdued forecasts, coming in at $9.79 billion in the third quarter, a 10.4 percent jump over the year-ago period, when Cisco's sales were $8.87 billion. Analysts were expecting sales of $9.75 billion in the third quarter this year.

Wall Street wasn't expecting fireworks from Cisco in the third quarter because the technology bellwether lowered its sales-growth target in February. Cisco blamed weakness in the U.S. economy, which was