MoneyCentral is a new personal finance site by Microsoft now in public beta test. An expanded and more user-friendly form of MSN's Money Insider (discussed in the October 23, 1997 Scout Report for Business & Economics), MoneyCentral encompasses a wide variety of guides and tools on everything from Family Financing to Real Estate, Taxes and Investing. Visitors may view the full range of...

MoneyMinded, provided by Hearst Communications, is a finance site aimed at women. The site is divided into sections on spending, working life, income/outgo, financial security, family goals and love & money. Each section contains articles and helpful guides on how to manage your money. For users who are ready to invest their money, the site's Investing section provides information on mutual funds,...

The world of personal and business finance is an interesting one, and the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission has created this excellent site to educate the American public about these matters. The site brings together important information from twenty federal agencies and it covers everything from 401k investments to just balancing a checkbook. Visitors to the homepage will find a...

This week's In the News looks at the introduction of Roth IRA. The five resources discussed explain what a Roth IRA is and suggest who can benefit from converting to a Roth IRA. The Roth IRA was created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and has been available to investors since January 2, 1998. The main feature of the Roth IRA is that, while contributions into it are post-tax, the growth...

Alan Greenspan's testimony to the Senate highlights concerns about the sustainability of Social Security in its current form in the future. The Social Security system currently collects more in taxes than benefits paid out, with the excess held in the Trust Fund. But this is expected to change in 2014 when the baby boomers and increased longevity of retirees is likely to result in benefits...