Contribution limits for 401(k)s and other plans may decrease next year

It's starting to seem like retirees and those saving for retirement can't catch a break.

First comes news that there won't be any cost-of-living increase for Social Security beneficiaries in 2010. Next we learn that beer prices are rising. And now we find that the maximum amount that you're allowed to contribute to your retirement plans may decrease next year.

"If recent inflation patterns continue into September, it's possible there will be a decrease in the statutory limits on qualified retirement-plan contributions and benefits for 2010," according to a report released by Mercer, the consulting firm, this week.

According to Mercer, the limits for defined-contribution and defined-benefit plans -- including the amount you can sock away in your 401(k) -- are adjusted each year according to a statutory formula based on inflation. And depending on actual inflation levels for August and September, Mercer said the formula could produce limits for 2010 that are lower than those currently in effect for 2009.

If that occurs, Mercer said employers will be looking to the IRS to decide whether the limits will remain unchanged or be reduced for 2010.

Presently, you can sock away up to $16,500 in your 401(k) on a pre-tax basis or $22,000 if you're age 50 and older. But given what's happened to inflation of late, Mercer said Uncle Sam could reduce the amount

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil fell below $70 a barrel Monday as a steep drop in China's stock market raised doubts about the strength of the U.S. and global economic recovery.

Benchmark crude for October delivery lost $3.18 at $69.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Friday added 25 cents to settle at $72.74, after falling from near $75 earlier in the week.

China raised some red flags last week as government officials seemed to suggest they would cut back on bank lending in coming months, essentially removing one of the stimuli they have added to the Chinese economy, said PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn.

The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.7 percent on Monday, adding to a nearly 3 percent drop on Friday, on concerns of a tightening in bank lending.

"The market is concerned whether or not the Chinese government can engineer a soft landing," Flynn wrote in his morning report. "How will the futures markets react as they start to remove this historic stimulus?"

Major refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. fell by the daily maximum 10 percent after the company said it does not expect to significantly boost production, while PetroChina, the Shanghai index's heaviest weighted share, fell 6.7 percent.

Oil has traded near $70 a barrel for most of the last few months as investors struggle to gauge how

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.

Under the deal, which was announced Monday and is expected to close by the end of the year, Disney will acquire the rights to 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.

Disney CEO Robert Iger said Marvel's comic books, TV shows, movies and video games amounted to "a treasure trove of content." Iger said the deal would bring benefits like the ones Disney got from buying "Toy Story" creator Pixar Animation Studios Inc. for $7.4 billion in stock in 2006.

"The acquisition of Marvel offers us a similar opportunity to advance our strategy," Iger said, and "to build a business that is stronger than the sum of its parts."

For Marvel, Iger said being in the Disney camp would mean better global distribution and better relationships with retailers to sell its products. Another storied comic book maker, DC Comics, has been under the wings of a major studio since 1969, when Warner Bros. bought the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Marvel Chairman Mort Handel called Disney "a perfect home for our great collection of characters."

One point of the deal is to help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel