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With all the woes in the subprime market and considering the reports that some money market funds hold money in securities that include subprime debt, should I be worried that my money market fund may "break the buck"? - Keith Lobel, Columbia, S.C. The news wires have certainly been abuzz lately with reports of securities linked to subprime mortgages turning up in money market funds.

Investment banking pre-tax profits could plummet almost three-quarters in the second half of the year on the back of market volatility sparked by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, according to stress tests conducted by rating agency Standard & Poor’s. S&P analyzed the prospects for investment banking and trading revenues by comparing banks’ performance in the second half of 1998 in the wake of the Russian debt crisis.