If it's Friday, there must be a bank failing somewhere across the country.

For six consecutive weeks, industry regulators have seized control of a bank after the market closed on Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks so far this year to 14.

To put that into perspective, 25 banks failed in 2008, suggesting that the rate of failures is quickening as the economic crisis deepens.

"We'll have a banner year [of failures] this year," said Stuart Greenbaum, retired dean and professor emeritus at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

At the current rate, nearly 100 institutions -- with a combined $50 billion in assets -- will collapse by year's end.

The latest is Oregon's Silver Falls Bank, which was closed Friday.

With more consumers and businesses likely to default on loans as the recession drags on, some industry observers think the pace of bank failures could accelerate further.

Gerard Cassidy, managing director of bank equity research at RBC Capital Markets, upped his expectations for bank failures earlier this month, warning that he anticipates 1000 institutions could fail over the next three to five years.

Courtesy of CNNMoney.com

Here's a must read booklet from WiserWomen.org:

Divorce And Retirement: How To Take Control Of Retirement Benefits

One of the most important terms to understand is the Qualified Domestic Relations Order "QDRO"

Get a “Qualified Domestic
Relations Order” (QRDO)

If you plan to ask for a share of your husband’s retirement benefits, you need a qualified domestic relations order or QDRO.  (Orders for retirement plans of government employees may have different names.)

The QDRO is a court order that is usually written by one of the couple’s attorneys. It orders the retirement plan to pay you a specified share of the benefits based on the terms of your divorce agreement. Your lawyer will submit the QDRO to the court for a judge’s signature. After the judge signs the QDRO, send it to the plan administrator as soon as possible.

Your agreement should specify whether you or your husband is responsible for preparing the QDRO and paying the related fees.

What happens if you don’t get
a QDRO?

You could end up like
thousands of women who reach
retirement age only to find out that
they won’t get what the divorce
decree stated because the
documentation wasn’t handled
properly.

Tuesday February 17th  Check your local PBS Station

General Motors and Chrysler LLC said Tuesday they could need an additional $21.6 billion in federal loans between them because of worsening demand for their cars and trucks.

The two firms, in documents submitted to the Treasury Department, also detailed plans to cut 50,000 jobs worldwide by the end of the year. GM said it plans to close five more plants in the next few years and confirmed it will drop some of its weaker brands.

A new tax law lets IRA and other retirement-account holders skip MRD withdrawals this year. Here's how it works:

• You can still take a withdrawal in 2009, but you don't have to. You would owe income tax on any withdrawal of pretax contributions and earnings from a tax-deferred account.
• The law applies to traditional IRAs, inherited IRAs, inherited Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth 401(k)s, and other defined-contribution employer plans.

If you've set up automatic distributions from you IRA or 401k you'll want to call your custodian and suspend those MRD withdrawls.

A number of IRA custodians are trying to establish procedures, especially for investors who receive automated payments each year from their retirement accounts, that will allow account holders to suspend or trim required minimum withdrawals. But some don't plan to send letters outlining changes for 401(k) holders until April. In the meantime, some custodians are still mailing checks -- even to retirees who may not want them. Other custodians are stopping payments unless account owners ask for the funds.

There is a backstop for retirees: the "60-day rule." IRA owners can generally roll unwanted withdrawals back into their accounts, as long as they do so within 60 days. To do so, you can simply write a check to the IRA custodian for the same amount you received. You're allowed to do one rollover per account once every 12 months. Otherwise, the distribution is taxed. It's not uncommon for people to miss that deadline, and the IRS in recent years has been reluctant to approve requests for extensions.

Courtesy of WSJ.com

Regulators on Friday closed Sherman County Bank in Nebraska and Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast in Florida, marking 11 failures this year of federally insured institutions.

Two Detroit municipal pension plans have lost $2.5 billion over 18 months, and analysts say the 30 percent drop could create a cash crunch in a police and firefighters retirement fund.

The losses between June 30, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2008 aren't much different from those of other American public pension systems hit by the worldwide economic downturn.

For example, holdings by the California Public Employees' System fell 26.7 percent to $184 billion, and the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan lost 28.6 percent of its worth, falling to $97.3 billion, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday.

An analyst for Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System, Richard Huddleston, wrote board members Jan. 28 that while the fund had $3.1 billion at year's end, only $1.27 billion was readily available.

We'll keep adding tools, information and tips to help.  This is a perfect time to look at your 401k, TSP, 403b and IRA accounts.  Markets have been extremely volatile, yields are low and pessimism is at all time high.  Don't give up!  Think about your goals, your time-frame, and how much risk you can tolerate.  Please don't turn your back on these accounts.

If you have an old 401k or 403b plan..it's important to roll it into your own IRA.  it makes sense to have more investment options and the ability to access the IRA if you have an emergency. 

Focus on frugal living!  Lets pay attention to our expenses.  I just cancelled my home phone.  I don't think I need to listen to 3-4 telemarketers leave me a message each day.

All of our jobs are on the brink.  Companies are cutting back and it's important to step up and help your company make money. 

If you do get laid off...focus on your core strengths and interests.  Look for opportunities.  You will be able to roll money into your IRA and take money out.  It will be taxable and possible penalized-but it's important to have that safety net!

Economist's are talking about recession and depression constantly.  Experts on CNBC are constantly divided.  Make sure to stay positive and tune off Cramer and some of the noise.

Stay healthy!  It's time to focus on healthy meals (yeah, eat your vegtables like Mom does) and try to minimize stress in your life.  That means exercise and some peace and quiet periodically.

Fidelity Investments, the nation's No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, today provided its 2008 State of the 401(k) update.

Based on analysis of Fidelity's 17,095 corporate 401(k) plans representing over 11 million participants, Fidelity found that in 2008 participants contributed an average of $5,600 (pre-tax earnings) to their 401(k) accounts, slightly higher than 2007 levels.

Despite ongoing contributions into 401(k) plans, unprecedented market declines resulted in the average workplace savings account balance dropping 27 percent in 2008 to $50,200 from $69,200 in 2007.

For those who did take a loan in 2008, the average amount was $8,400. Most employers offer a loan option in their workplace savings plan. Participants are usually allowed to borrow up to 50 percent of their vested balance or $50,000 whichever is less.

• How To Rollover Your 401k Plan
• Caterpillar to Cut 20,000 Jobs
• Srint Nextel to Cut Up to 8,000 Jobs
• Home Depot to Cut 7,000 Jobs
• Microsoft to Cut Up to 5,000 Jobs
• Intel to Cut Up to 6,000 Jobs
• UAL Layoffs Planned
• BofA Could Cut 4,000 Jobs
• Cerberus May Lay off 10% of Staff
• Clear Channel Cutting 1.500 Jobs
• GE Capital to Slash Up to 11,000
• Conoco to Lay Off 4%
• Pfizer to Cut Up to 2,400 Jobs
• AMD to Lay Off 1,000
• WellPoint to Lay Off 1,500
• Hertz to Cut More than 4,000 Jobs
• Motorola to Slash 4,000 More Jobs
• Google to Cut 100 Recruiter Positions
• Seagate Cutting 6% of Workforce
• Barnes & Noble Slashes 100 Jobs
• Oracle Cuts Several Hundred Jobs
• Boeing to Cut 4,500 Jobs
• Cigna to Slash About 1,100 Jobs