ET CETERA            Hopefully useful and informative information    ·        The number of people in the U.S. with "past due" balances on their credit card bills rose to a record in the second quarter this year. A record 4.82% of credit-card accounts were past due in the second quarter, up from 4.76% in the first quarter.   ·        By taking small steps to improve their credit scores, consumers as a group could save billions of dollars each year, according to a new study that sheds light on the widespread confusion over credit scoring. The study, released on September 20 by the San Francisco-based card issuer Providian Financial Corp., analyzed industry data on 352 million credit card accounts to determine the average daily balance, interest rate and credit limit for a broad range of consumers across the credit score spectrum. Based on this information, the study found that consumers could save an average of $76 annually on credit-card finance charges - or $16.4 billion in total - by making a 30-point improvement in their credit score.   The three-digit credit score, which typically ranges from 300 to 850, is the most widely used measure of a person's credit risk. Consumers with high scores - the current U.S. average is approximately 723 - have an easier time securing low-interest loans and other favorable terms on credit.   Consumers can obtain one free copy of their credit report from the three major credit bureaus each year. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com.   Credit scores, often referred to as FICO scores because they were pioneered by the Fair Isaac Corp. in the late 1950s, have been marketed to consumers only for a few years.   ·        China is expected to introduce higher automobile taxes soon to push Chinese buyers toward choosing vehicles with smaller engines, in line with efforts to improve energy conservation and fuel efficiency.  China currently has a one-time consumption tax ranging from 3% to 8%.   ·        It happened with technical support, financial services, tax return preparation and catalog order-taking. Now, a growing number of U.S. and British companies as well as law firms are outsourcing legal work to India.   The Wall Street Journal (September 28) noted that "the practice started a few years ago with simple word processing and filing services performed by nonlawyers. But increasingly, squads of experienced but inexpensive lawyers based in India are doing things ranging from patent applications to divorce papers to legal research for Western clients."   ·        Its seems like everyone has a list. Money magazine recently announced the ten Best Places to Live. The list included:   Moorestown, New Jersey Bainbridge Island, Washington Naperville, Illinois Vienna, Virginia Louisville, Colorado Barrington, Rhode Island Middleton, Wisconsin Peachtree City, Georgia Chatham, New Jersey Mill Valley, California     ·        Five years after the National Do Not Call Registry took effect - and with more than 200 million numbers enrolled - dinner-time conversations are still being interrupted by telemarketing calls.   Regulators say the system is working, but a survey by the Consumer Care Alliance found that 51% of the registered consumers say they're still getting calls they think the list is supposed to block. Lois Greisman, the Federal Trade Commission official in charge of the registry, says the agency receives a "steady flow" of between 1,000-2,000 complaints about telemarketers every day.   Do-Not-Call Tips:   Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222.   Tell callers to put you on their company's do-not-call list, which they must maintain by law.   Sign up for your state's do-not-call list.   Get on the industry's list at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offtelephone.     ·        The U.S. government for the first time is spending federal dollars to promote the USA abroad. Foreign tourism to the USA still has not rebounded to pre-September 11 levels. The federal government is spending $6 million on an ad campaign in the United Kingdom, the USA's No. 1 overseas tourist market. The government will spend $10 million next year in the U.K. and Japan, the No. 2 overseas market.   Canada and Mexico are the No. 1 and No. 2 foreign markets but aren't considered "overseas."   ·        Roughly eight in ten baby boomers plan to do some type of paid work during retirement. But only about a quarter of current retirees have worked for pay since quitting their jobs.   How baby boomers plan to spend retirement:   42%   Work and leisure 17%   Never work for pay 16%   Work part-time 13%   Start their own business 6%     Work full-time 6%     other   Source:  The Merrill Lynch New Retirement Survey   ·        If you have a baby at 40, can you still retire at 60? It just got a lot more difficult. You've narrowed the time frame, so if you retire at age 60, your child would be smack-dab in the middle of college.   Greg Reed, a financial planner with Smith Frank & Partners in Dallas, Texas ran the numbers for a hypothetical couple and reached the following conclusion: Retire at age 67, when full Social Security benefits kick in.   Assumptions: §        Ages:                                   40 §        Husband's Income:              $90,000 §        Wife's Income:                    $35,000 §        Joint Retirement Savings:      $150,000 §        Annual Pay Increases:          3.5% §        Annual increase in Tuition:    6.0% §        Return on retirement and §        College Savings:                   8.0%   New Recommended Expense         Cost per Month   Increased 401(k) or IRA                                              $1,000 (up from $520)   College Fund                       $365 (could produce $60,000)   Life insurance - Husband      $122 (20 year policy worth $1 M)   Life insurance - Wife  $53    (20 year policy worth $500,000)   Disability insurance - Husband $104.24 (5 years of $4,000 a month tax free income)     ·        5.7%:           The increase in medical-malpractice payouts by 15 leading insurance companies (2000-2004)        120%:          The increase in the net premiums collected by those 15 companies (2000-2004)        Finally, for the golfers   Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it   Questions? contact Jim Kelly 714-669-8200 or email jim@jimkellyCPA.com