Author: Melissa Harmon, Senior Producer

Unemployment hit 9.7 percent today, its highest level in 26 years. That milestone came as I was wrapping up production on our Labor Day special edition "Working It Out" focusing on the nation's employment picture.

The unemployment rate's 26-year high got me thinking about the 26 year old in my life - my eldest niece. Jamie was laid off this summer from her job at an Internet marketing firm. But it wasn't her first layoff since finishing college. A previous employer in the same field went bankrupt. So while she loves marketing and finds SEO copywriting fascinating, she stays busy looking for a job by day and using her Internet/database skills in a surprising way at night, pursuing a master's degree in library science.

Innovation... what does it really mean? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as the introduction of something new - a new idea, method or device. To mark NBR's 30th anniversary we looked at the ideas, methods and devices introduced over the last three decades that have changed our lives. And boy did we have a bunch to choose from! Our viewers submitted thousands of suggestions from the Mars Rover to the Internet to the bailers used for packaging on Christmas tree lots over the holidays.

4/27/2009 UPDATE: The required minimum distribution Rules for IRAS, 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans have been suspended. This means Seniors aged 70 1/2 and above do not face a penalty if they do not take money out of these accounts in 2009. The blog entry below refers to 2008, and does NOT apply to 2009.

A heads up tonight for seniors age 70-1/2 and older, and yes, Mom that means you too!

There will be no break for seniors this year on rules requiring them to take money out of their IRA and 401-k plans. The Treasury and IRS said today they will not change those required distributions for 2008. The decision is a huge disappointment for many Americans age 70-1/2 and over... who've seen their retirement funds torched in the market meltdown. They must take out money based on the value of their accounts at the beginning, not the end of this year.

In her November 12th "Money File" commentary segment, Harriet Johnson Brackey of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel explained why she thinks it is a bad idea to end required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts. Well, we received a lot of feedback from our viewers who disagreed with her. We asked Harriet to respond.

Here's what Harriet said:

Dear Kay (And all the other Seniors who object to my position saying that suspending Required Minimum Withdrawals would be a bad idea),

January 22nd, 2009. Nightly Business Report's 30th anniversary will be here before you know it, and we're gearing up for it with a special project, "The Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years." A group of professors from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania will judge the nominations you submit via the Knowledge@Wharton website.

You've got lots of innovations choose from. Just think about it! There's the World Wide Web, hybrid cars, medical breakthroughs... heck even Paul Kangas and the Nightly Business Report team are an innovation. The program was a pioneer in business journalism, bringing economic and market coverage off the page and on to television screens in 1979.

We invite you to post your comments about this project and about the innovations you are considering at the bottom of this blog entry. Let's discuss those innovations and think about just how they've changed the world.

Outside of the financials... stocks were surprisingly strong today. Last night as news was unfolding about JPMorgan's purchase of Bear Stearns at $2.00 a share and the Federal Reserve's emergency cut in the discount rate... I found myself thinking... you better get to bed early, 'cause it's going to be a long day on Wall Street. I wasn't far off, but I was certainly surprised to see the damage contained to the financials, especially when everything I'm reading calls the current credit environment "unprecedented."

We'll have three takes on the story tonight... first, Suzanne Pratt with what the deal means for JPMorgan and Bear. Second, Erika Miller looks at who could be the proverbial next shoe to drop among the financials. Third, Darren Gersh looks at the Fed's role and the tools it has left in its box to help solve the credit crisis.

And, NBR's Susie Gharib will also talk one on one with banking analyst Dick Bove of Punk, Zeigel & Co. He has been perhaps the most vocal of the analysts covering the banking and brokerage sector, and tonight his take on this crisis is no less alarming.

It's a very exciting day in the NBR newsroom with lots of preparations underway to bring you Susie Gharib's interview with President George W. Bush. The President addressed the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce today, and urged Congress to take up work on a free trade agreement with Columbia as soon as lawmakers return from their Easter recess. After that speech, the President sat down with Susie at the White House. Their conversation covered a variety of topics including international trade, the dollar, the U.S. economy and soaring oil prices.

In other news...

What a day on Wall Street with many focusing not on the lousy stock market, but instead on the unfolding prostitution scandal involving New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer made his name serving as New York's Attorney General. In that role he was an anti-corruption crusader bent on forcing Wall Street to clean up its act. He played a key role in the ouster of Dick Grasso from the New York Stock Exchange. Today, he made no reference to the prostitution scandal, saying only it was a private matter and that he'd failed to live up to his own standards. The Governor gave no sign he had any intention of stepping down. The New York Times quotes a federal law enforcement official as saying Spitzer is "client number nine" captured on federal wiretap tapes arranging a meeting with a high priced call girl on a visit to Washington, D.C. last month.

In other news...

How do you pick the best quotes from 14-1/2 minutes of good stuff? That's the task I faced today, after Susie Gharib interviewed Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Susie and Fisher covered a lot of ground from inflation to stagflation to how much is enough when it comes to rate cuts? In the end we decided to accommodate as much of the interview as possible by pushing off some of our regular features, like the commentary that usually ends the program.

That said we were still only able to bring you about 7-1/2 minutes of the Fisher interview. So if you like what you see tonight, please check out the streaming video of the full interview on our website. You can also read the complete transcript here.

Changing their religion... that's how NBR's tech expert Scott Gurvey describes Microsoft's plan to incresase the openness of its products. The move allows third party developers to create new applications that work with Microsoft's products. Scott's story leads tonight's program.

We're also talking tax rebates with our tax guru Kevin McCormally. He's the Editorial Director at Kiplinger's Personal Finance. We've received lots of email asking for the "truth" about the rebate checks, with some viewers insisting that they're just an advance on next year's tax refunds. Join us as Kevin takes on the role of myth buster. We also begin Lucy Craft's two-part series "Taiwan Tech" with a look at Asustek a Taiwan-based maker of high-tech low-cost laptops.