it's been one year since the government begain bailing out troubled insurerer a-i-g...but looking back...was the time and money really worth the effort? and saving for retirement after this recession... how new challenges like inflation will impact you're nest egg. and...some u.s. industries look for new opportunities in cuba now that certain rules are lifted. it's all ahead on this edition of first business. by year since showing no signs of stepping out of the market now that volume comes back in the prices of stocks continue to march higher after labor day. a lot of concern about whether or not the market will fall apart has happened one day in. looking ahead to the rest of this week unless the president

obama if will be addressing congress about health care reform efforts and also on wednesday and thursday of this week if we have four federal reserve members giving different speeches so investors are paying attention to what they have to say about the state of the economy in the global market. meantime defeat out trade leasing gold prices creepy and to some degree explode back to a thousand hours an ounce to looked at go up on the charts and also get into a discussion of what the gold rally may not be tied to inflation. this september.... marks an entire year ... that aig has been under the control of the us government...today, taxpayers now own 80% of the company... as aig continues to unwind its operations.. and sell off its assets.. we ask the question is it still worth saving?.. exactly one year ago... many thought aig was too big fail... the company was on the hook for billions in credit default swaps.. and to prevent a run on other banks.. the u-s government stepped in... with several

bailouts totaling 180 billion dollars. the total pot consists of 85 billion in emergency loans, a 60 billion dollar credit line from the federal reserve.. and a 40 billion dollar investment in aig's preferred shares. even as aig's obligations are being unwound... some market pros believe it's still too big to fail. "ripple effect... the fact is those tentacles are all over the place.. counterparties built their positions based on being paid off.. so this "too big to fail" still exists." "if the u.s. government doesn't continue to support aig, we will fail." aig's new ceo robert benmosche recently told the wallstreet journal quote: "if the u.s. government doesn't continue to support aig, we will fail," but critics argue.. as long as the government supports aig... the company is nothing but a slush fund for wall street ...

according to janet tavakoli. "aig wants to stay alive.. what's happening is that investors are picking at the corpse of aig.. money flows into aig and it flows out to trading partners.. investment banks.. getting huge paydays.. paying their employees huge bonuses. " in aig's latest quarterly report issued in august... the company reported asset sales.. generating 4.6 billion dollars in after tax proceeds... during the first 6 months of the year... aig's asset sales have been slow... because of lower than expected values for its operations... and hopes are dimming that taxpayers will actually see the entire bailout money paid back. "do i expect the 180 billion paid back.. possibility.. but the interest behind it.. that remains to be seen... i don't see how that could happen unless the values spike and they can sell at a higher price " critics believe taxpayers.. will likely never get the best price for aig's assets. "if the 180 billion is ever

paid in full.. it will be because the 180 billion in taxpayer money is disguised as profits at aig.. no they will not get paid back.. the only way is if they cook the books and use our money to pay us back.. and pretend they were viable company that generates profits." aig's ceo has publicly said.. he's willing to wait a few years... to get the best price for some of the company's operations... tom... while we were working on this story, we received this viewer email from jack: i recently made the purchase of aig stock at $47 and $41. since it was trading around $36 i wasn't happy. do you think a- i-g is so far messed up that they're not going to come back.

it's back to work for congress and first up is healthcare reform. president obama addresses a joint session of congress wednesday night. it comes as democrats on the senate financial committee put forth a new bill designed to expand health insurance coverage for less than $900- billion over 10 years by using non-profit health insurance co-ops to provide more competition to private insurers. it would provide tax credits for americans to buy health coverge but would not mandate companies offer health insurance to employees. meantime on the other side of the capitol, the number two democrat in the house of representatives says he would support health care reform that does not include a public option.

stocks remaining at new highs and gold also hitting thousand dollars an ounce lincoln ellis of the lynn group watching it with the set the cme crew would you make of this market? we're gonna talk later on but big rallies in gold and in stocks. it's interesting that there's been a lot of talk and protect early in the commodity complex about the rally in commodities. you have to remember just like the stock market hasn't been that broadbased. it's really been concentrated in energy and oil and in gold. not a broad base rally in commodities and certainly not a broad based rally in equities. the tissue from commodities that is a dollar driven reaction to the dollar as opposed to any fundamental state. that's absolutely the case and is most evident in the grain sector where you see fundamental demand and a really big harvest coming up in the u.s.. driving prices to malty year lows. meantime spreading over to the equities i know when we talk over past three months or so seemingly everyone time to look

for market talk has it been there. i think we have seen since to make beginning of july in formulating itself into august is disproven top and the technician terms of the trade. you will see some sort of significant pullback in the month of september or october simply based on the valuations and the lack of bring in debt and its equity rally since the middle of july. definitely we will get into that more tomorrow will have you and studio wisc-r sheridan cost think or swim the dole amigo speaking ellis from the lynn group over at the cme group.

still to come some u.s industries get the green light to expand to cuba...now that rules that once kept them out are being lifted. but first..the changes the coming year could bring to your retirement savings...that's ahead after the break.

it's no secret that americans are not saving enough money for retirementand the bear market over the past two years has hurt most 401-ks. and now low inflation may mean you can sock away less into your 401-k next year. david wray heads up the profit sharing 401-k council of america. course ecstasy welcome back. a maximum contribution $16,500 into a 401k that threatens to possibly dropped if we continue to see deflationary doesn't it? impossible but there is uncertainty about whether there would actually ever reduce the threshold limit. even if there

were to make the reduction they do with insteps of $500 which means we have to have almost 3% decline in net debt we have a half percent decline so is likely no change. this took a look at the rate of deflationary or deflation as we have seen this year it has climbed steadily to allow the maximum contributions to climb since they've been put into place if you see in the rate which we see prices dropping by a half percent of the press roll like%. i think people should be possible this year. even if we do see prices dropped even if we do see maximum contribution dropped when there so few people that make the 16,005 ordered all contribution. is an unusual thing. still play of 10 people eligible are actually in all denise 401 case. this is data from your organization the average contribution is just 5 1/2% of a paycheck. so normal limits are sufficient what we find no is the people who are at the end of the working career immediately starts-and a lot of money in. and that's why

we need those time limits. cabal which leads us to the final point in the white house has been doing much as it can to encourage savings. while not mandating savings at the same time the first to expand and automatic 401k and roman plans was not to like about the default and rodent and 41 k as opposed to choosing. i disagree attacked it for people to use and companies have started doing this and what the white house has done is they have really expanded roles to mexico but this always small companies concerned about the cost as well as a liability aspects of telling a new hire you have to be involved in this war you're automatically taken off. we know that this small company challenges out there for all of us call what this does is it makes it available for the ira which is a special small company

defined contribution plan so i think they have taken the world to the maximum possible which is very good. another effort on the part of the white house is to say to employees leaving the company instead of that paid vacation time that your old and writing a check why don't we allow you to contribute to your 401k good idea? we want to make it easy for people to say and do our employment system best way to do with. and employers now make this available. having the kitchen time between the next job presuming there is a next job will be able to get a check and put the right to attack share. because right now you have to be paid for a writ. my law this old to you that's pretty easy for you to save instead of taking it in cash. far apart is to save on tax reform is the average tax refund is approaching $2,500 per household to the white house now trying to involve those folks to checkoff box and buy u.s. savings bonds. good idea but not much interest rates.

again the idea is to make it easy as possible for people to save people do want to save right now will we see is we see the 41 k plan for every three people decreasing their contribution far percent are increasing so americans are starting to save and make it as easy as possible however they want to do with. is the nest egg still correct? bauxite that's a hard thing to say. the 401k participants have stayed the course they did a quick team to the dollar average cost to participate in the rally since march certainly they are a lot better off and were less debris. stay the course this is a long- term program. that rate along with us she heads up the profit sharing 401k council of america. still ahead from banking to agriculture...how certain industries could be impacted by changing business rules between the united states and cuba...that's next after the

break.

cell phone roaming service, banking and agriculture equipment. those industries could be among the first u-s businesses to look to expand into cuba in more than 40 years. new u-s rules on business between american firms and cuba also could greatly increase the amount of money americans send to the communist island. antonio morales-pita grew up in cuba and is an

economics professor at depaul university. always nice to see profess welcome back. the key. lots of changes for these u.s. industries and mentioned cellphone roaming satellite cable providers. u.s. banks could also be opened what kind of impact could this have for these kind of u.s. industries? well i believe that will be beneficial to the u.s. because at this point we need demand. there are problems with cuba in is that they don't have money. so something should be done to have something back maybe some bartering but it will increase our demand. the struggle that these industries under these new rules could be looking to cubans. thanks u.s. banks are being encouraged to set up repentances wit to been a bank's but your point is that there might may not be the man into before these more modern technologies. the amount of money could increase because

the amount of money that cubans have been a u.s. or americans in the u.s. are able to send more money there. and there will increase the possibility of the currency in cuba to buy the stuff. americans for some degree will be financing this by sending money to cuba to create the demand of the new u.s. services that may be looking to cuba. this interesting way to say it. how can these be greeted with you grope and revolutionary cuba house this in the power structure? and power stocks to will be been affected by this money. also most importantly the people of cuba will be benefit to it. having something else to eat something else to listen to. during my time before i left school in 1996 it was awful. it was you were lucky if you could find a public telephone and mouse. a lease now you can contact people in the think is this without

communication is very difficult to create a network of any think. so if we try to make people more alert to what is going on in the world this type of women in industries a part of the u.s. government looking to kill it remains to be seen whether there will be welcomed with open arms do they greet this with the beijing model of an open economy? or perhaps with the concern that if cuba opens up its economy anymore it could create a instability? everything changes. even though his brother is in charge but everything is so different. the things that he does allow the tapes. he paced the market economy he prefers to have his people die and starving and that of helping them. the more obvious example the most obvious example i would

say this it are a culture. is underused and useless and he doesn't want to open the possibility of having former scrolled the land as they which they have to go with it want that the price that they want. they don't believe and they don't allow the market economy. when fear is gone he may change things. in agriculture is a key component of these new treasury rules. a lot more trouble on the part of u.s. and to keeping treasure we have to leave it there we appreciate it professor at antonio mall hours at depaul university.

gold it reaches the $1,000 an ounce market this week. does it have staying power will take a closer look at the charts coming up next. beautiful.

taking another look at gold increased $1,000 an ounce mark on to state the question is is it going to have the power to actually blow past the lavalas ticket or is it going to fall down below 1000 allison else like it has done a couple times in the past. it's gonna be familiar territory for the gold this is back in march of 08 in

february of all nine before the most recent data for u.s. stock prices and we are again is clear that $1,000 and also hundred share for gop is some pedicle resistance. we know the reasons why gold breached those high levels back in the past two years is because the economic crisis few dead. but this time around is not exactly the freak out draper maybe a type of related to the real u.s. dollar united nations actually came out this week calling for a new global currency that puts pressure on the u.s. dollar we saw a big drop and of course since gold in the u.s. dollar are inversely related that is what causing both to go higher. in some garments like the chinese government talk about the need for a global currency now you have united nations calling for the possibility of a global currency debt is not the dollar and you see they're freaked out trade the dollar

dropped and gold exposure to the upside. you have to hear from you, first business x. c o m always open 247 will see you online or back here next time thanks for watching everybody.