With too many retirees and too few funds expected, the future of the country's social security and medicare programs is likely to be in peril. Can 401(k)s save the day?

Corn-based ethanol can make a dent in demand for oil, but at what price? Food costs go up. Environmental damage worsens. If oil prices fall, ethanol production will probably collapse-as it did 20 years ago.

After prospering at record rates in 1996 and '97, farmers experienced a sobering setback last year. Will the future on the farm be grim or grand?