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Consumer News & Alerts

March 13, 2006

DEAD MEN WALKING
Like zombies staggering toward a cliff, the two remaining American automakers bumble away what's left of their once priceless franchise. Sales are in free fall, Wall Street is jittery and, perhaps most alarming, Ford and General Motors are working overtime to alienate their fast-shrinking customer base.

With bean-counters at the helm, Ford and GM lose no opportunity to cut costs, but it's hard to save your way towards success in a globally competitive industry increasingly dominated by perfectionist Asian automakers. Joe Benton explores the terrain in this week's cover story, Sunset Over Detroit.

Speaking of Ford, The Ford Fusion flunked the latest crash tests, earning a "not competitive" label from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The BMW 3 Series and Lexus aced the tests.

TITLE INSURANCE FRAUD RISING
Title insurance and real estate settlements are not only complicated, they're downright dull -- a dangerous combination. The point at which the eyes glaze over is always dangerous, as the slightest inattention opens the door to trickery of various sorts. If you've paid higher than expected fees on a real estate or refinancing transaction, please let us know about it.

IRS May Allow Data Mining The likes of H&R Block are currently prohibited from selling your confidential information, which seems only fair. But, amazingly, the IRS is proposing a new rule that would permit the plundering of customers' private data.

CitiMystery There are a million stories in the Citi and perhaps one of them would explain why thousands of Citicards mysteriously shut down over the last few weeks. Our Martin Bosworth reports that a massive security breach is suspected.

High-Crime Area Washington's upscale Georgetown neighborhood has its share of burglaries, muggings and so forth. After all, it's where the money is. It's also where the information is, and hackers snatched a big chunk of valuable data from a Georgetown University server recently.

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE ...
Forget the Academy Awards, these are the ACORN Awards and once again the top spot -- "Loan Shark of the Year" -- goes to Money Mart, a nationwide chain that writes payday loans at interest rates that can reach 912%. "This company's entire business is based on preying on people in need," said California ACORN member Paulette Chappill-Otten. "And we aren't going to take it any more."

Tarheels Declare Victory In Payday Lending War In pro-business Virginia, radar detectors are illegal but just about anything else goes. In its neighbor to the south, North Carolina, radar detectors are OK but payday loans are illegal. Attorney General Roy Cooper said the last companies still operating in the state have agreed to get out of town.

"We've fought payday lending at every turn and we're putting this industry out of business here in North Carolina," Cooper said.

AND THE WORD WAS GOOGLE
Google has been expanding into so many areas it may seem it is flailing around. Maybe so, but one recent transaction sent shivers up several significant spines at Microsoft headquarters. Google bought a small company that produces Writely.com, a free online word processor. Writely does most of the essential tasks Microsoft's Word performs but is a.) free and b.) an online application that works entirely through your browser. It sounds like a small thing but it may very well be a big chink in Microsoft's armor.

Google also let it slip, supposedly by accident, that it is working on something called the G-Drive, a free online service that would enable you to store all your documents and files on Google's vast network of servers. Couple that with Google's free e-mail and the day is not far away when your computer won't need to do much more than get online. In the Third World, and in poor neighborhoods here at home, a very inexpensive computer running free, open-source Linux may soon be able to do most essential tasks, leaving Microsoft's hugely bloated and expensive programs behind. Nothing evil about that in our book.

STILL THE ONE
Just plain aspirin is still the safest and most effective anti-clotting regimen for those at risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study finds. The study found no significant benefit in adding Plavix or other anti-platelet aggregators, which slightly increased the risk of bleeding. But wait! Don't start taking an aspirin a day just because you think it might be good for you. Talk to your doctor first. As our Dr. Henry Fishman notes, daily aspirin use is not without risk. If you don't need it, you shouldn't take it.

Kids Exposed to Smoke More Likely to Carry Strep Here's another reason for parents to quite smoking -- a new study finds that children exposed to smoke are more likely to carry strep bacteria. If the bacteria, also called pneumococci, grow out of control, infection can result in minor illnesses like ear infections or lead to more serious diseases like sinusitis, pneumonia and meningitis.

Study Recommends More Prostate Biopsies During twice the number of biopsies could save lives, a study finds.

Study Suggests Antidepressant-Suicide Link Data from 24 clinical trials suggest medications may be linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children.

House Votes to Outlaw State Food Safety Laws Without a public hearing, Congress nullifies hundreds of state laws. Forget public health, it's intended to make life easier for food processors.

SCAMS & OUTRAGES

• Tax Scam Supposed IRS "inquiry" may really be identity theft in disguise.
• Wedding Photographs Don't Develop Silky Photography allegedly left brides at the altar.
• Police Death Scam New Yorkers taken in by bogus telephone solicitations.
• J.D. Marvel Returns Canadian company has reputation for failing to deliver the goods.
• College Students Get Shellacked University Painters misled ambitious students, state charges.
• Primax Windows Company allegedly did shoddy work, failed to deliver as promised, Ohio charges.
• Payola Scandal New York charges Entercom Communications shook down record companies in exchange for airtime.

A DANGEROUS COMBINATION
Everybody likes dogs and most people like children. But dogs and very young children don't mix well. A study finds that dog bites are most common in the youngest children. Researchers think dogs see infants and toddlers as subservient -- and treat them accordingly.

Limiting Sugary Drinks Slows Teens' Weight Gain An easy way to keep the pounds off? Cut back on sugary drinks, a new study finds.

Check our Parenting News section anytime for the latest.

RECALLS & SAFETY ALERTS

• Chrysler Pacifica NHTSA probes a stalling problem.
• Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra Tailgate cables can rust and break.
• Suzuki Recalls Eiger ATV Fuel tank can leak.
• BRIO Snail Toy Choking hazard.
• Capresso Espresso Machines Fire hazard.
• Performance Travel Trac Trainers Fall hazard.
• "Forever-Glo Nite Lites" Two-for-one: fire and burn hazard.

PRACTICE SAFE MULCHING
Hurricane Katrina's lingering effects aren't confined to the Gulf Coast. Homeowners throughout the country may be in a for a nasty surprise if they use mulch made from trees downed by the giant storm. Louisiana is home to some particularly hungry termites, and much mulch was made in the days following Katrina. Mulch spreaders beware.

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