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Republican senators and Gov. Jay Nixon have sparred regularly the last few years about how to grow Missouri’s economy. Now they’re sparring over who to put in charge of the effort.

Senate leaders are poised this week to sink Nixon’s nomination of St. Louis attorney Jason Hall to lead the Department of Economic Development, claiming the 36-year-old lacks the experience necessary for the job. The Senate committee that approves nominations declined to take up Hall’s on Wednesday. And if they don’t by week’s end, not only will his nomination expire, but Hall will be barred for life from holding the post.

Senate President Pro Tem Robert Mayer, R-Dexter, said Wednesday he has no plans to approve Hall this week, and people familiar with the talks said his nomination is basically dead.

But there was no official word from Nixon’s office, which put out a statement saying Hall is “highly qualified.” Hall himself did not return messages seeking comment.

The son of a Granite City steelworker and founder of a group for gay lawyers in St. Louis, Hall was an attorney at Bryan Cave before Nixon tapped him to lead the quasi-governmental Missouri Technology Corp. in 2009. In December, Nixon picked Hall to replace outgoing DED director David Kerr, calling him “exactly the type of bright, energetic leader we need to help create jobs and move Missouri’s economy forward.”

But Hall’s nomination came on the eve of an election year, on the heels of a legislative special session where lawmakers couldn’t agree on job-creation tools, and amid probes into DED’s handling of a sweetener plant deal that collapsed in Moberly last fall.

All those factors likely played a role in Senate opposition to Hall, said Dan Mehan, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“This appointment became that much more critical and focused on,” Mehan said. “It was going to get attention because there is this opinion out there, rightly or wrongly, that [DED] needs to be fixed.”

Mehan is one of several business leaders who’ve said they support Hall’s nomination. He called Hall well-qualified, and pointed out that Missouri has had many officials - from both parties - who served in top roles while in their 30’s.

“[Hall’s] a quality guy and would be a great benefit to the state,” Mehan said.

Mayer sees it differently. Talking to reporters in Jefferson City today, he noted the nominee has “very little experience in private industry or business.”

“Most senators believe he’s a bright, articulate young man,” Mayer said. “But at this stage in his life, I don’t think he’s ready to take on the position of the Department of Economic Development.”

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Australia unexpectedly lost jobs for a second straight month in December, capping the nation

A wave of explosions struck two Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 23 people and intensifying fears that insurgents are stepping up attacks after the U.S. troop withdrawal that was completed last month.

The attacks began with the explosion of a bomb attached to a motorcycle near a bus stop where day laborers gather to look for work in the Sadr city neighborhood. The blast killed eight people, police said.

One of those who witnessed the attack said it filled the area with thick black smoke.

“People have real fears that the cycle of violence might be revived in this country,” said Tariq Annad, a 52-year-old government employee who lives nearby.

That attack was followed by the explosion of a roadside bomb nearby that killed another person. Police found a third bomb nearby and defused it.

Less than two hours later, two blasts struck the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah in the north of the capital, killing 14 people.

Officials said the Kazimiyah blasts occurred almost simultaneously, with at least one caused by a car bomb.

Hospital officials confirmed the causalities, which included at least 60 wounded.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Iraqi leaders have warned of a resurgence of Sunni and Shiite militants and an increase in violence following the departure of U no credit check payday loans.S. troops.

The early morning blasts followed deadly attacks Wednesday that targeted the homes of police officers and a member of a government-allied militia. Those attacks, in the cities of Baqouba and Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad, killed four people, including two children, officials said.

The latest violence comes as Iraqi politicians remain deadlocked in a festering political crisis that threatens to re-ignite simmering sectarian tensions in the country.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government, dominated by Iraq’s majority Shiites, issued an arrest warrant for the country’s top Sunni politician last month. The Sunni official, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, is currently holed up in Iraq’s Kurdish north _ effectively out of reach of state security forces.

Al-Maliki’s main political rival, the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, is boycotting parliament sessions and Cabinet meetings to protest what they say are efforts by the government to consolidate power and marginalize them.

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The last time Mark Stella went to the dentist he didn’t need an insurance card. Instead, he pulled out a Groupon.

Stella, a small business owner, canceled his health insurance plan more than three years ago when his premium rose to more than $400 a month. He considered himself healthy and decided that he was wasting money on something that he rarely used.

So when a deal popped up on daily deals site Groupon for a teeth cleaning, exam and an X-ray at a nearby dentist, Stella, 55, bought the deal _ which the company calls a “Groupon” _ for himself and another for his daughter. He paid $39 for each, $151 below what the dentist normally charges.

Daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial are best known for offering limited-time discounts on a variety of discretionary goods and services including restaurant meals, wine tastings, spa visits and hotel stays. The discounts are paid for upfront and then it’s up to the customer to book an appointment and redeem a coupon before it expires. Merchants like the deals because it gives them exposure and a pop in business. Customers use them to try something new, to save money on something they already use, or both.

The sites are increasingly moving beyond little luxuries like facials and vacations and offering deals that are helping some people fill holes in their health insurance coverage. Visitors to these sites are finding a growing number of markdowns on health care services such as teeth cleanings, eye exams, chiropractic care and even medical checkups. They’re also offering deals on elective procedures not commonly covered by health insurers, such as wrinkle-reducing Botox injections and vision-correcting Lasik eye surgery. About one out of every 11 deals offered online is for a health care service, according to data compiled by DealRadar.com, a site that gathers and lists 20,000 deals a day from different websites.

“I was accustomed to going to the dentist every six months,” said Stella who owns SmartPhones, a store and wholesale business in Miami that sells mobile phone covers and accessories. “This filled the gap.”

The deals are popping up across the nation. In New York, a full medical checkup with blood, stool and urinalysis testing sold for $69 in December on Groupon _ below the regular price of $200. In Seattle, a flu shot was offered on AmazonLocal for $17, down from $35. In Chicago, LivingSocial sold a dental exam, cleaning, X-rays and teeth whitening trays for $99, a savings of $142.

About 9 percent of all offers on daily deal websites in November were for dental work or some kind of medical treatment, up from 4.5 percent in the beginning of 2011, said Dan Hess, CEO and founder of Local Offer Network, which runs DealRadar.com. The growth in health-related deals is good news for millions of Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46.3 million Americans under 65 have no health coverage.

The number of health care deals began rising as copycat websites attempted to get a piece of the market. Search leader Google and shopping site Amazon.com have recently gotten into the game.

Not all have been successful. In August, social networking site Facebook dropped its plan to start a daily deal business, and Yelp, a site that allows customers to write reviews of restaurants and other businesses, scaled back its daily deal efforts business card design. Many smaller sites have closed. But the shakeout in the industry hasn’t hurt the number of health deals being offered since the industry leaders, like Groupon, are offering more deals and are moving into more markets, Hess said.

The health care deals may be attractive for people with gaps in their coverage or no insurance, but jumping from one health care provider to the next isn’t ideal. Visiting the same doctor or dentist makes it easier to monitor how a patient’s health is progressing, said David Williams, co-founder of medical consultancy group MedPharma Partners and author of HealthBusinessBlog.com.

Also, it’s important for patients to do their own research before buying a medical or dental deal, Williams said. “A referral from someone you trust is the best path,” said Williams.

Dental deals are the most popular among users of local deal websites _ likely because even more people lack dental insurance than health insurance. Among the 172 million people under 65 who have private health insurance in the U.S., about 45 million don’t have dental coverage, according to the CDC.

Dentists have traditionally offered deals by mailing out coupons, but paper coupons have a low redemption rate, Williams said. Local deal sites are more attractive to doctors and dentists because they get paid up front and they reach new clients.

“We reached a whole new demographic who otherwise wouldn’t find us,” said Dr. Gregg Feinerman, an ophthalmologist who runs Feinerman Vision Center in Newport Beach, Calif. He offered a 58 percent discount on Lasik eye surgery through Groupon. “It’s a better way to market,” he said.

He used Groupon as a way to bring in patients under 30-years old with the hope that they would recommend his services to friends and rate him on review website Yelp. A good review might persuade someone else to visit his office, Feinerman said. He charges $5,000 for the surgery on both eyes; a price that he said can be “overwhelming for 20-to 30-year-olds.”

Feinerman approached Groupon about listing the eye surgery for $3,000. Groupon, which is based in Chicago, pushed him to lower the price to $2,100.

Feinerman got exactly the type of patient he was looking for in Thomas Cho. Cho, 29, bought the offer and after the surgery wrote a review on Yelp. He gave the vision center five stars _ the highest rating on the website.

Cho said in an interview that his health insurance plan only covers 20 percent of the regular price of Lasik since it is considered a cosmetic procedure. He would have paid about $4,000 if he had used his insurance discount.

Cho decided to buy the Groupon, paying $2,100 initially. After consulting with the doctor, he upgraded his surgery to an all-laser procedure for $1,000 more. At the time, Cho’s credit card issuer was offering a 20 percent cash back promotion on Groupon purchases. In all, he saved more than $1,300.

“I had my post-op checkup and I am seeing 20/20,” Cho wrote on Yelp. “I couldn’t be happier.”

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Stocks closed down more than 1% Wednesday, as investors continued to fret over how Europe could solve its debt troubles in 2012. Selling intensified ahead of the close.

On a light trading week, investors have few other economic or corporate indicators to mull before 2011 ends.

Still, traders and analysts said the low volumes led to more pronounced swings, and some of the moves are coming from year-end portfolio rebalancing rather than convictions over the trajectory of all stocks or a particular stock.

"I don’t know what to read into today," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. "There’s nothing going on in the U.S. market. It’s a holiday week."

The S&P fell back into negative territory for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average () closed down 140 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 () slid 16 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq () lost 35 points, or 1.3% .

Dragging down the technology sector Wednesday were RIMM, () Netflix () and Fossil (). The Nasdaq is down roughly 2% for 2011.

Despite Wednesday’s sell-off, the Dow remains up 5% for 2011.

Some traders still hope to close the year poised for a January bounce. To get there, some say 1260 would be the magic number for the S&P to clear on Friday.

"If we could clear 1,260 by the end of the week, we could see a strong rally in January," said Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

If the S&P clears 1258 by year-end, it would mark the third straight year of gains. The index remains about 11% below where it closed at the end of 2007.

Still, after closing at 1250 Wednesday, stocks need to commence a substantial two-day rally to get there.

U.S. stocks have been buoyed recently by signs of improvement in the US economy, including declines in weekly claims for unemployment benefits and an uptick in new home construction.

But investors say the market remains vulnerable as the debt crisis in Europe continues to threaten the outlook for the global economy and financial markets easy to get unsecured personal loans.

One bright spot for Europe on Wednesday was an Italian auction of 3- and 24-month bonds that drew strong demand and yields half as high as the previous month’s auctions. The results helped lift European equities and banks.

Investors will be more closely watching Thursday’s auction of Italian 10-year bonds, which have seen yields continue to flirt with the 7% danger zone. That level is worrisome because it flashed the first warning signs for Ireland, Portugal and Greece, which all eventually needed bailouts.

U.S. stocks ended a listless session little changed Tuesday as investors weighed reports on consumer confidence and home prices.

World markets: Europe’s markets finished lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 () eased 0.1%, the DAX () in Germany slumped 2% and France’s CAC 40 () lost 1%

Economists a bit more optimistic

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite () rose 0.2%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong fell 0.6% and Japan’s Nikkei () lost 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: Oil prices eased off the previous sessions spike, slipping $1.64 to $99.70 a barrel. On Tuesday, crude prices jumped 2% after Iran threatened to choke off the flow of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Gold futures for February delivery fell $31.40 to $1,564.10 an ounce.

The dollar fell against the British pound and the Japanese yen but edged higher against the euro.

Companies: Shares in the financial sector remained under pressure throughout the trading day.

Top stocks of 2011

Citigroup (, Fortune 500), Credit Suisse (), Wells Fargo (, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (, Fortune 500) closed down between 1% and 4%.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury moved up sharply, with the yield falling to 1.928% from 2.01% from late Tuesday.  

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New polymer banknotes demand that all money-handling machines in the country be upgraded at a cost of $75-100 million, the Bank of Canada estimates.

That compares to $20-30 million for the last conversion in 2004-2006, bank spokesperson Julie Girard said Tuesday.

“This transition is going to be a little more involved,” she said in a phone interview.

The new $100 bill came into circulation last month, made of a smooth, film-like polymer material and incorporating such high-tech security features as the world’s first transparent windows with embedded metallic pictures.

The $50 bill goes into circulation in March, the $20 bill late next year, the $10 and $5 in 2013.

Although the currency size remains unchanged, the texture, security enhancements and relative lightness of the new bills necessitate machinery upgrades.

“In Canada, we have 500,000 machines that accept, dispense or sort bank notes,” Girard said. “They include ATMs, parking machines, and sorting machines that banks and financial institutions use — the full gamut.”

Automated Teller Machines, or ATMs, number 75,000 alone, she said.

They don’t usually dispense $100 bills. Nor do automated parking wickets, TTC token dispensers or change-making machines.

So far, the mechanisms affected mainly include institutional ones that count and sort $100 notes. But in the coming months, other money-machine owners will have to adjust, modify, convert or replace their equipment.

“We’ve been working (on this) for more than two years,” Girard said. “People from our regional offices go out every single day to retailers, financial institutions, law-enforcement officers.

“They do presentations at public libraries,” she said. “They talk to the blind and the visually impaired. You can insert these bills in a banknote reader and it will read out what the denomination is.”

While upgrade costs might appear steep, the polymer bills generate savings in other areas, Girard said.

Staying with the familiar cotton-paper blend to execute the high-security features would have cost $200 million more than by using polymer, the bank estimates.

Being more durable, the new bills are expected to last two-and-a-half times longer than existing ones — at least seven years.

That means savings on production costs as well as on costs to transport replacement bills across the country, especially as the new bills are 10 per cent lighter than the old ones, Girard said.

Thwarting counterfeiters also implies savings for police and courts, the bank says.

The showcase security feature — a world first — is the large see-through window running vertically toward the right on the face side, next to the portrait of former prime minister Sir Robert Borden on the $100 bill.

A smaller, metallic portrait of Sir Robert and a metallic picture of the Parliament buildings embedded in the window can be seen equally from the face and reverse sides of the bill.

The metallic Sir Robert reflects rainbow colours when tipped in the light. The metallic Parliament, created using different technology, does not reflect light in the same way.

About 30 other countries issue polymer currency, Girard said. Some also have a window, but not as large a window as the Canadian one and the metallic pictures count as a world first.

Sooner or later, counterfeiters are expected to catch up to the bank’s technologists. The new series is given a lifespan of eight years, when machine upgrades must begin again.

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Stock indexes gave back some of their gains Monday and the euro turned lower against the dollar following a report that Germany and five other major European nations could risk having their credit ratings downgraded.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped as much as 167 points Monday but gave up more than half of that gain in the afternoon. The Financial Times reported that Standard & Poor’s might put the six nations on “creditwatch negative,” which means there is a 50-50 chance that one might be downgraded in the coming months.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose in early trading on hopeful signs that Europe was making progress toward preventing a breakup of its 17-nation currency union. Yields on Italian government bonds receded sharply after the new government of Mario Monti introduced sweeping austerity measures over the weekend.

Also, the leaders of France and Germany called for a new European treaty to prevent nations from running up big debts like the ones that pushed Greece and other weak countries to the brink of default.

“There’s pent-up demand, and people will use any excuse to get back in, thinking there’s been too much pessimism,” Gendreau said. Despite strong signals about the U.S. economy, the market has been weighed down by negative headlines about the U.S. budget impasse, credit-rating downgrades of the U.S. and other nations, and Europe’s spreading crisis, Gendreau said.

The Dow was up 70 points, or 0.6 percent, at 12,089 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12, or 1 percent, to 1,256. The Nasdaq composite index rose 28, or 1.1 percent, to 2,655.

The gains were broad. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose. Financials stocks were among the biggest winners. Investors have feared that U.S. banks might be dragged down by their close connections to the unstable European financial system.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. jumped 3.5 percent, the most in the Dow. Bank of America was the second-biggest gainer of the Dow 30, rising 3.2 percent. Citigroup Inc. rose 5.7 percent, Morgan Stanley 6.1 percent.

Investors are hoping that a summit of European leaders on Thursday and Friday will produce concrete measures to prevent a messy breakup of the euro currency, which is shared by 17 nations. Markets have been jittery because of fears that the euro might disintegrate, causing a sharp recession in Europe that would spread through the world economy.

While the statements from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were far from a long-term solution, investors are eager to buy on any hint of good news because they have been earning meager returns from relatively low-risk investments such as Treasurys and CDs, said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist with Cetera Financial Group instant payday loans.

Italian bond yields dropped to their lowest level in a month, a day after the nation’s new government introduced austerity measures. That suggests traders believe that Italy is far less likely to default. The main Italian stock index jumped 2.9 percent.

Italy’s borrowing costs pulled back from a level that might have forced the nation to default. Analysts say bailing out Italy would be too costly and would hurt the credit standing of German and France, which have the strongest economies in the euro group.

The yield on the 10-year Italian bond plunged half a percentage point to 5.93 percent. It rose above 7 percent last month, a level at which other nations were forced to take bailouts. By comparison, bond yields in Germany, Europe’s largest and most stable economy, are roughly 2 percent.

Monday’s strong gains follow the best week in more than two years for U.S. stock indexes. The S&P 500 rose 7.4 percent last week, the most since March 2009. The Dow jumped 7 percent, the most since July 2009.

Markets are hopeful that, given the gravity of the situation afflicting the euro zone, the German and French leaders will come up with a common proposal for tighter integration on budget matters. Analysts say that such a plan could lead to further emergency aid from the European Central Bank, possibly through the International Monetary Fund.

In corporate news:

_ Gannett Co. leapt 11.4 percent after the media company was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Lazard Capital Markets.

_ Incyte Corp. fell 2.7 percent after a Citigroup analyst downgraded the drug maker to “neutral” from “buy,” saying its new blood-disease drug Jakafi might not work as a long-term treatment.

_ SuccessFactors Inc. soared more than 50 percent after the company agreed to be sold to German software company SAP for $3.4 billion. SuccessFactors makes software specializing in human resources tasks. The deal is part of SAP’s plan to compete with software rival Oracle Corp.

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Visa Inc. says its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 14 percent as cardholders used their credit and debit cards more often both in the U.S. and abroad.

The San Francisco-based payments processing network says it earned $880 million, or $1.27 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. Revenue rose 13 percent to $2.38 billion.

Wall Street was expecting profit of $1.25 per share, on revenue of $2.4 billion fast payday loan no faxing.

Visa says it processed 13 billion transactions during the quarter, up 9 percent from last year.

Worldwide, Visa card holders spent $1.55 trillion on their cards, with debit outpacing credit. That’s up 17 percent from last year’s quarter.

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Investors remain anxious to find safety even as the stock market moves back toward positive territory for the year.

They’re on pace to yank more than $20 billion out of stock funds this month, the fourth time in the last five months, scarred by the volatility over everything from the sluggish economy to Europe’s debt crisis to the threat of another global recession.

Despite the recent market uptick, there’s still plenty to worry about.

Fears remain that the Greek government may fail to pay its massive debts, which would wreak widespread financial havoc. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hasn’t backed off from his statement early this month that the economic recovery “is close to faltering.” And investors aren’t fully convinced that the selloff that pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index down 14 percent in the third quarter has run its course.

All the added uncertainty fuels any temptation to abandon stocks, as many already have done.

But “playing it safe” comes at a cost. Over the long run, fleeing to cash or buying Treasurys may be even more dangerous in this era of low interest rates as well as low returns. It can do permanent damage to your money’s buying power and your retirement prospects.

That’s the message financial advisers have been hammering home to clients who want to abandon the stock market, fearing a repeat of the 2008 meltdown or who are simply fed up with all the plunges.

Disillusioned investors, too, risk chasing an illusion of safety. So-called safe havens aren’t all that safe anymore.

“This is what I say to clients: `There is no safety’,” says Femi Shote, an investment adviser with Asset Harvest Group in McLean, Va. “What I preach is resilience, not safety.”

Hints of improvement in the latest corporate results hold out hope for investors, while highlighting the risk of being on the sidelines. Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, says the stock market is “pretty cheap” after all the selling and could come back quickly.

“All this volatility doesn’t engender a lot of confidence,” LaVorgna says. “But some good news can quickly restore it. If it looks like the economy is still growing and there’s some resolution in Europe, we could have the tonic for a powerful rally.”

Whether that occurs soon or not, here’s a look at the numbers confirms the meager payoffs of playing it safe.

_ Cash: Although it can provide a sense of security, cash doesn’t hold its value well over time. The average yield on a money-market account is just 0.54 percent, according to Bankrate.com. Even the best-paying online savings accounts pay 1 percent or less. As recently as the summer of 2008, just before the financial crisis hit full-force, you could earn 5 percent on such accounts.

Certificates of deposit also pay poorly. The highest rates available are 1.15 percent on a one-year CD and 2.2 percent on a five-year CD.

_ U.S. Treasury notes: The safety of bonds is less rewarding than it used to be. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to a record-low 1.71 percent last month and remains near 2 percent.

_ Gold: It is far too speculative to be used wisely as protection against a falling stock market. But gold has been embraced by investors worried about rising U.S. debt, the possibility of inflation and a spreading European debt crisis. More and more piled in as the price nearly tripled in four years, reaching a record $1,891.90 on Aug. 22.

Since then, it has tumbled all the way back near $1,600.

Aside from gold’s recent slide, a market-weary investor might reason that at least cash and other options offer less downside risk than stocks and the most protection for their accounts.

Investment experts, however, consider that thinking short-sighted quick cash. If you’re too conservative, they note, you can outlive your money.

Inflation historically averages about 3 percent, so putting money aside that earns less than 1 percent means its value is eroding over time. Keeping money in the stock market is the likeliest way to stay ahead of inflation, or at least keep pace.

Even in a period that included two sharp declines in the market, the S&P 500 index had an average annual return of 7 percent for the 15 years from mid-1996 through June 30. That’s hard to match elsewhere.

Investors who ditch stocks are removing future growth from their portfolios and need to compensate elsewhere.

“When you sell, you need to simultaneously increase the amount you’re contributing to that account,” says Stuart Ritter, a certified financial planner for T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. “Or if you’re in retirement, you need to withdraw less. Otherwise you have no chance to keep up with inflation.”

Then there’s what economists call the opportunity cost — what you miss out in the long haul by leaving.

Over the longer term, the case for staying in stocks is even more compelling. History says the market is highly unlikely to decline over any 10-year period, recent times notwithstanding. On a rolling basis, the S&P 500 has produced losses in only four out of 76 different 10-year periods since 1926, according to a T. Rowe Price analysis.

Those who want to keep their cash on the sidelines until the market calms down, even for a few days, do so at risk of missing a comeback. An investment that excluded the best 10 days of the S&P 500 in the past decade would have posted an annual loss of 1.5 percent rather than a gain of 5.3 percent.

Investors who sat out even part of the 2009-11 bull market learned the hard way.

When panicked clients call Joe Adkins of Financial Advisors International with a request to sell after seeing the Dow drop hundreds of points, the Orlando, Fla., money manager offers a ready reminder. Had they sold stocks in March 2009 when the market bottomed and bought back in in December 2009, he tells them, they would have missed a 4,000-point gain in the Dow — nearly two-thirds of the two-year bull-market rally.

“You shouldn’t manage your money based on the headlines,” his advice goes. “Just weather the storm, because if you go to cash you risk running out of money.”

Besides telling clients to stick with the market, many advisers are steering them toward large, stable, blue chip stocks with a history of paying annual dividends of 3 percent or more.

Others recommend sinking a small percentage of holdings into alternative investments _ a catch-all term for such instruments as hedge funds and commodities. Alternative investments can be used as a tool to reduce overall risk through diversification. But the complexity, cost and lack of liquidity typically don’t make those the safest of investments, either.

Ultimately, those who can’t tolerate short-term risk for the likelihood of long-term gains may find a comfort level with simply a smaller percentage of their money in stocks.

They just have to realize that caution will probably cost them in the end, according to Pat Dorsey, director of research and strategy for the Sanibel Captiva Trust Co. in Chicago.

“Certainly if you are just a very nervous person, prone to getting out of the market every time the Dow drops 2 or 3 percent, having higher cash or bond allocation may make sense,” Dorsey says. “But you’ve got to dial down your (lifestyle) expectations for the future if you do that.”

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Forecasters say Tropical Storm Jova could become a hurricane later in the day out in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that Jova had maximum sustained winds near 70 mph (113 kph) but was still far from land. It was about 460 miles (740 kilometers) west-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, on Saturday morning.

Current forecast models show Jova could make landfall over Mexico by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irwin was beginning to make a U-turn and is expected to start moving toward land in the next couple of days Faxless payday loans. Irwin had maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph (120 kph) and is expected to remain a Category 1 storm for now.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Philippe continued to swirl far from land.

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