Current Events in December 2010

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed suit against Discover Bank, accusing it of deceptively charging some credit card customers for pricey optional financial products that the company markets.

According to the compliant, the products were presented as a way for people to protect themselves from fraudulent or unauthorized charges and to enhance their financial security in the bad economy. Discover, one of the nation's largest credit card companies, claims to be in one out of four households with 54 million credit cards in circulation.

"The company charged some consumers for expensive add-on financial products without their understanding that their credit cards would be charged," said Swanson. "The irony is that the credit card company markets these products as a way for consumers to protect themselves from fraudulent or unauthorized credit card charges and financial instability in the bad economy."

Swanson says that in 2009 Discover earned nearly $300 million in annual revenue from the sale of these optional financial products, an increase of over $80 million, or over 37 percent, from 2007. This is in addition to the revenue the bank charges customers for interest and penalty fees (e.g. late fees, over-limit fees, etc.) In 2009, Discover reported net income of $1.3 billion.

The lawsuit alleges that Discover Bank and its affiliated processing company made aggressive, misleading, and deceptive telemarketing calls to sign people up for these products. Swanson said the company first lures the consumer into believing the call is a courtesy call from their credit card company and not a sales call -- that is, that the caller is simply touching base to make sure the customer is aware of all the benefits of the card.

Unaware a transaction was taking place

In some cases, Swanson says the company has charged people's credit cards for enrollment in these add-on products even though the consumer did not agree to purchase anything. In other cases, she says the company tricks people into unknowingly signing up for these products, usually by inducing consumers to say "ok" or "yes" to a benign statement without understanding they are signing up and then treating that response as authorization to bill their credit cards.

In many cases, Discover refuses to make refunds to aggrieved consumers, the investigation found.

A typical telemarketer generally cannot sign up a customer for a product or service unless the customer gives out their credit card number or other form of payment. Unlike a typical telemarketer, Discover is the consumer's credit card company and already has their credit card number.

Swanson says this wrinkle enables the company to charge consumers for extra financial products by making deceptive telemarketing calls in which some consumers did not give knowing consent to purchase the paid products.

Trickery

Swanson said her investigation found that Discover telemarketers used trickery as a matter of course.

For example, in some cases telemarketers read the consumer a purported "disclosure" in which they butcher or alter the text, leave out key words, run sentences together, pause when there is no period, or speed read the text, all to make it incomprehensible to the consumer.

In other cases, telemarketers leave out key terms like the fact the consumer is purchasing something or the price, and instead emphasize portions of the script that do not suggest a sale is taking place, like the company's customer service number. In other cases, the company leads customers to believe they are simply authorizing the company to send them materials in the mail to look over, with no agreement to purchase a product or have their credit card billed.

"People expect their credit card company to help them avoid fraudulent charges, not make them," said Swanson.

Defendants in the lawsuit include Discover Bank, a Delaware state bank; DFS Services, LLC, its affiliated processing company; and Discover Financial Services, the parent corporation of both entities. The lawsuit was filed in Hennepin County District Court and seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, and restitution.

If you're an individual investor, chances are you've been sitting out the last few rounds of what has generally become known as a market slugfest.

Just because the financial crisis is over, that doesn't mean the markets have calmed down or that investing has become any easier, which is one reason most individuals have stayed on the sidelines for the past year, preferring to play the market via their 401(k)s, mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs.

Meanwhile, volatility appears to be here to stay. There's even a volatility index that some hardy souls use to influence their investment decisions. That's a little like betting on where the hurricane is going to hit land. Even if you're right, destruction is sure to follow.

Still, this is the time of year when the giant financial services firms issue their investment predictions for the coming year. Obviously no one knows for sure what's going to happen next year because so many unpredictable variables are at play.

That said, here are some educated guestimates based on research provided by the highest-paid financial analysts in the world. You have to figure that if somebody is willing to pay them six and seven figures a year, they should know what they're talking about.

These investment strategists come from Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, First Eagle Investment Management, and FBR Fund Advisors. Here are their predictions for 2011.

Tip 1. It's safe to get back into the stock market as long as you stay diversified and play the S&P 500, which Merrill Lynch Chief U.S. Equity Strategist David Bianco predicts will reach 1,400. His vision is shared by Merrill Lynch Technical Analyst Mary Ann Bartels who points out that the third year of the presidential cycle is generally the best year, with average returns of 14%. Bianco and Bartels like what are known as the Big International Growth sectors like technology and energy as the most likely outperformers.

Tip 2. Merrill Lynch's Fixed Income Strategist Marty Mauro recommends taking credit risk over duration risk in the taxable bond market. Both municipal and corporate bonds are forecast to post positive returns in the intermediate-term maturity range, but returns from Treasuries could be negative. That means if you're going to buy bonds, buy municipal and corporate bonds and not treasuries. In fact, Merrill Lynch is predicting that municipal bonds could provide some of the strongest fixed income returns in 2011.

Tip 3. As well as U.S. equities are expected to perform, global equity prices should do even better. Merrill Lynch research thinks global equities will be up 15% in 2011. However, Abhay Deshpande, of First Eagle Investment Management says he prefers domestic equities over emerging markets.

Tip 4. When considering individual stocks, Merrill Lynch recommends going large capitalized companies over small with the exception of technology and growth over value. Goldman Sachs says equities remain its preferred asset class for 2011. Goldman analyst Chris Pidcock said investors should be exposed to stocks linked to increasing mining volumes, the recovery in the U.S., domestic consumption and M&A/IPO activity. He adds that markets are moving through the 'growth' phase and the majority of price to earnings contraction has occurred.

Pidcock says he believes returns in 2011 will be mainly dependent on earnings per share growth with some potential for price to earnings expansion emerging late in 2011 and 2012. Goldman's top 10 stock picks for 2011 are Amcor, BHP Billiton, James Hardie, News Corporation, Qantas, Asciano, Computershare, Lend Lease, Onesteel and Woodside. Merrill's preferred big cap stocks for 2011 are Macquarie, Stockland, Asciano, Downer Edi, News Corp and Woodside.

Tip 5. For you brave currency and foreign exchange players, Merrill Lynch strategists believe the dollar will strengthen against the euro and yen. As Europe struggles with persistent sovereign debt issues, Merrill Lynch G-10 Currency Strategist David Woo believes the euro will be the weakest currency in 2011, falling to 1.20 versus the dollar by year end. Woo sees the Japanese yen depreciating very gradually to 88 by year-end. He adds that investors looking for a big appreciation of the Chinese RMB will be disappointed as we expect only a small move over the next 12 months.

Tip 6. Commodity prices are expected to rise, led by oil, copper, and coal. Merrill Lynch Commodity Strategist Francisco Blanch says oil may rise to $100 barrel and he forecasts copper to average $11,250 a metric ton in 2011. He adds that coal faces supply constraints and is heavily geared towards emerging markets growth. Blanch says precious metals will continue to benefit from inflation and sovereign debt fears and gold could reach $1,500 per ounce. In contrast, agricultural commodity prices are more likely to fall in 2011.

Tip 7. Credit cards companies. Dave Ellison of FBR Fund Advisors thinks credit cards are one of the more attractive areas now because the yields on the assets are still very high, meaning you're making credit card loans at 10%, 12%, 15%, 20%. He says that's a lot better than making a mortgage loan at 4%, especially when you have people strategically defaulting on their debts. He says he'd rather get 12% and take his chances on defaults, because he can have a lot more defaults and still make money. He prefers transaction-oriented companies like Capital One, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Ellison said he's also a fan of credit collectors like Portfolio Recovery Associates. These companies buy loans at very low prices and then work them out. If the economy improves and jobs come back even a little bit, people will be able to make those payments. Another attractive area would be small, well- capitalized banks that can take advantage of consolidation in the financial sector.

Tip 8. Financial companies. Deshpande thinks financial companies that have taken a beating in the past two years are victims of misunderstanding. And Ellison recommends those companies that bought those toxic assets like KKR who can sell those assets for twice what they paid for them. Deshpande says his portfolio is full of wrongly accused and underappreciated financials that suffered what he calls collateral damage. For example, he cites Bank of New York Mellon which he claims is not a bank at all and that 80% of its business is actually non-interest-bearing, fee-based revenue, custodial business, and that kind of asset management. He says only 20% is net interest income, and that's really corporate trust business. It's not even at-risk business. These business lines are packed with underappreciated earnings power. He's talking about potential normalized earnings of $2.80, $2.90 a share, so the stock is trading for less than 10 times earnings.

Tip 9. Just do it. Get back in the game as Jim Kramer of CNBC's Mad Money is so fond of saying. Let's face it, if you want to grow your portfolio or to give yourself a modicum of chance to recover losses to your retirement savings you need to get back into the market and put your money back work. You can start small and then add to it as the year goes on. Slow and steady wins the race. Steadily increase the capital you invest and don't leave money on the table. If your employer offers retirement saving matching such as through a 401(k), take it! That's free money that can greatly increase your post-retirement "income.”

Tip 10. Become as knowledgeable about your options as possible. Developing a clear strategy are keys to smart investing. It is also often a good idea to speak with a qualified financial planner. Read -- and understand -- the "fine print.”

It's your money. Make sure you know what you're doing with it and what the risks are. Protecting your hard-earned money is worth a few minutes of reading statements or disclosures, and asking enough questions to know what you're getting into.

That means identifying your risk tolerance and understanding where you are in your lifecycle. A single 20-something with 50 working years ahead of her can tolerate more risk than a 50-something with only 20 more years of work ahead. Where in the spectrum are you? And finally, know what you need. A survey by EBRI found that only 46% of Americans had estimated how much money they would need to retire.

So start with a goal in mind. Think about why you are investing -- to buy a house, to send the kids to college, or for your own retirement. Not only will this help to motivate you, but it should also give you a better sense of how much you need and when you need it. Good luck.

Would you believe that more than 90% of the decisions and reactions we make behind the wheel depend on good vision?

If so, you'll be shocked to learn that a recent survey reveals a disturbing fact -- one in five eyeglass wearers sometimes drive without their prescription glasses. Instead, they wear non-prescription sunglasses, quickly making daytime driving unnecessarily treacherous.

Most of us think that driving in a bright, sunny day is better than driving at night or in the rain. The reality is that blinding glare from sun, snow and other vehicles is a significant contributing factor to fatal auto accidents.

Kim Schuy is Senior Global Director of Marketing for Essilor, the leadingmanufacturer of optical lenses in the United States. She says thatonly one-third of eyeglass wearers have prescription sunglasses with polarized lenses.

"As our roadways heat up this winter and glare from the sun and snow increases, it's critical that consumers discuss with their eye-care professional the life-saving benefits of prescription, polarized lenses," Schuy said.

Trouble seeing while driving on sunny and snowy days is very common among glasses wearers. However, 60% of those with prescription sunglasses, particularly those with polarized lenses, experience less trouble.

A clinical study conducted by Essilor as a precursor to the survey found that driver reaction times improve by one-third of a second for drivers who wear polarized lenses.

For a car traveling 50 miles per hour, one-third of a second allows a driver to stop 23 feet sooner, or the length of an intersection. In glare-intense situations, polarized lenses improve vision clarity by 75%, as opposed to ordinary sun lenses.

For whatever reason, it seems that more couples today are foregoing the formality of marriage, even when children are involved.

What many of them fail to realize are the often serious financial consequences surrounding their decision, not that money should be your primary motive for marriage. It simply makes things a lot less complicated, especially around tax time.

Financial planners say unmarried couples are simply not eligible for many of the same legal protections or advantages as married couples and this can become extremely complicated when they start to think about retirement planning, buying property, taxes and estate planning. According to the Wall Street Journal, they even have a name for it, the "unmarried penalty."

Wendy Hartmann, a Los Angeles-based tax and estate-planning attorney, in an interview with the Journal, says she's seen several situations where the surviving partner was left homeless and destitute because the couple didn't do the proper planning.

Financial planners should probably start to study up on how to deal with these situations because the Census Bureau says the number of opposite-sex unmarried couples living together rose 13% this year over last to about 7.5 million. Census Bureau also estimates the number of same-sex couples living together rose roughly 30% to about 620,000 this year from about 476,000 in 2009. And both those totals are expected to continue growing, as some younger couples delay marriage, older couples choose not to remarry and most states continue not to allow gay couples to wed.

For many unmarried couples, the most immediate concern is how to share expenses, especially if their incomes differ significantly. Financial planners often help couples determine a fair way to share monthly housing costs and other regular expenses.

Devin Pope, a certified financial planner based in Salt Lake City, says that when an unmarried couple splits, there typically is no third party involved, such as a lawyer, as there would be in a divorce to make sure assets are fairly split and debts are retitled.

Estate planning

Tax and estate planning also become more complex for unmarried couples. Planners say it is important to make sure the couples are working with a certified public accountant and estate-planning attorney who understand each couple's unique situation.

Barrett Porter, a certified financial planner based in Los Angeles, says working with a good accountant can help unmarried couples avoid any tax surprises such as inadvertently triggering a gift tax because of the way they title their assets. He adds that a smart CPA can also help an unmarried couple make sure they are claiming their deductions in the most tax-efficient way.

For example, if a couple that shares the title to a house has a large disparity in incomes, the higher-income earner, who would benefit more from tax deductions, may be able to deduct a larger share of the mortgage interest.

Debra Neiman, an Arlington, Massachusetts certified financial planner says she also explains the importance of proper asset titling when working with unmarried couples.

She points out the story of one couple, where only one of them was listed as the sole owner of the house they lived in. And when the person who owned the home died the surviving partner was left homeless. She says that could have been avoided if the couple had held the home in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. She adds that it's important to make sure investment accounts and other assets are properly titled as well.

Health-care directive

Another area that can be complicated for unmarried couples is a health-care directive. These are documents that give a designated person the right to make medical decisions for someone. They can be even more important for unmarried couples than they are for married people.

Without proper documentation, individuals have no legal right to make health-care decisions for their unmarried. There have been a number of situations where one partner wasn't allowed to carry out a sick partner's medical wishes because the ailing partner didn't have a health-care directive.

In some cases, the unmarried partner may find that they're not even allowed to visit their ailing lover in the hospital, especially if the significant other is in the intensive care unit.

It's also especially important for unmarried couples to make sure they document their wishes for their estates. Financial planners say that if those wishes aren't documented, the laws of the state in which the couple lives will determine who their beneficiaries will be, and that is unlikely to be the surviving partner. Another problem for some unmarried couples is that some family members may not approve of the couple's relationship and will do what they can to prevent a surviving partner from inheriting anything.

At the very least, unmarried couples should draft wills. Although some financial planners also recommend unmarried couples set up trusts as well. In general, trusts help individuals or couples dispose of their assets in the manner they choose, without the need for probate court proceedings that can tie up assets for long periods.

Also, couples who have children need to consider drawing up proper adoption papers to make sure there's no confusion about each partner's parenting rights.

Acting under a court order sought by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Marshals have seized chili pods, ground chili, crushed chili, and other chili products located in the rodent-infested food warehouse owned by Duran and Sons L.L.C. in Derry, New Mexico.

The New Mexico Environment Department had previously placed an embargo on all products in the company's food warehouse on Nov. 17, 2010.

Serious violations

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico issued a warrant for the seizure of all FDA-regulated food in the warehouse.The federal government's complaint alleges that the products are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they have been held under insanitary conditions and may have become contaminated with filth.

An FDA inspection of the company's facility between Nov. 15 and 22, 2010, revealed "an active and widespread insect and rodent infestation in the food warehouse," according to the complaint.

"The alleged violations at this facility are serious and widespread," said Dara A. Corrigan, the FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "This prompted the FDA to take aggressive enforcement action to protect the health of consumers."

FDA investigators found rodent nesting material and dropping on and around food, several rodent gnawed containers of food, and stains indicative of rodent urine.

In addition, they saw a live cat, live birds, apparent bird nesting, bird droppings, feces and urine from other animals, live and dead insects, and insect larvae throughout the entire product warehouse.

FDA laboratory analysis of samples collected during the inspection confirmed the investigators' observations.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have identified components in the sweet stuff that both inhibit the movement of cancer cells and weaken their attraction to a chemical signal that promotes the spread, or metastasis, of prostate cancer to the bone.

This finding could lead to new therapies for preventing cancer metastasis.

Performed in the lab of Manuela Martins-Green, a professor of cell biology, the research was presented Monday at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology taking place in Philadelphia.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the United States. To date, there is no cure for it.

If prostate cancer recurs after treatments of surgery and/or radiation, usually the next treatment is the suppression of the male hormone testosterone, which inhibits the growth of the cancer cells because they need this hormone to grow.

But over time, the cancer develops ways to resist hormone suppression therapies, becomes very aggressive, and metastasizes to the bone marrow, lungs, and lymph nodes, usually resulting in the patient's death.

The Martins-Green lab applied pomegranate juice on laboratory-cultured prostate cancer cells that were resistant to testosterone (the more resistant a cancer cell is to testosterone, the more prone it is to metastasizing).

The researchers -- Martins-Green, graduate student Lei Wang and undergraduate students Andre Alcon and Jeffrey Ho -- found the pomegranate juice-treated tumor cells that had not died with the treatment showed increased cell adhesion, meaning fewer cells breaking away, and decreased cell migration.

Next, the researchers identified the following active groups of ingredients in pomegranate juice that had a molecular impact on cell adhesion and migration in metastatic prostate cancer cells: phenylpropanoids, hydrobenzoic acids, flavones and conjugated fatty acids.

"Having identified them, we can now modify cancer-inhibiting components in pomegranate juice to improve their functions and make them more effective in preventing prostate cancer metastasis, leading to more effective drug therapies," Martins-Green said.

"Because the genes and proteins involved in the movement of prostate cancer cells are essentially the same as those involved in the movement of other types of cancer cells, the same modified components of the juice could have a much broader impact in cancer treatment."

Martins-Green explained that an important protein produced in the bone marrow causes the cancer cells to move to the bone where they can then form new tumors.

"We show that pomegranate juice markedly inhibits the function of this protein, and thus this juice has the potential of preventing metastasis of the prostate cancer cells to the bone," said Martins-Green.

Her lab plans to do additional tests in an in vivo model for prostate cancer metastasis to determine whether the same cancer-inhibiting components that work in cultured cells can prevent metastasis without side effects.

These days, it seems there are all sorts of "helpful" companies out there offering to assist with forms, paperwork and applications - for a fee. If it's true that the best things in life are free, then you shouldn't have to pay for them, consumer advocates warn.

While it's not illegal, consumer authorities are quick to point out that the services these firms offer to provide can be done by consumers for free. If a consumer thinks they genuinely need help filling out a form, there's usually free assistance available. They shouldn't fall for a pitch from someone who wants to charge for that help.

In Pennsylvania, GovernorEdward G. Rendell says the state provides free assistance to eligible older adults and people with disabilities to apply for rebates of up to$975fromPennsylvania's Property Tax/Rent Rebate program. There is no reason, he says, for anyone to pay for the help.

"It's unfortunate that some companies charge fees to provide a service that the government and other agencies provide for free," Rendell said. "Application forms and assistance are available at no cost from Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior centers and state legislators' offices."

Pennsylvaniais providing a total of$772.5 millionin property tax relief this year, including expanded rebates from the state's Property Tax/Rent Rebate program for seniors and residents with disabilities and general property tax relief for all homeowners that was distributed through school districts this past summer.

College aid information is free

Young people bound for college are also often approached by firms offering to sell information that is actually free. A case in point is financial aid information.

College Foundation ofNorth Carolina(CFNC) reminds you thatthis information is always available for free,” the group says. "You do not need to pay for information on financial aid.”

Be careful about invitations, calls or emails about "free" seminars or "limited time only interviews" on ways to pay for college.  Many of these "free" seminars are actually part of a sales pitch for services you're led to believe will help you find financial aid.  

CFNC says you should be especially cautious of requests that require a fee for assistance, ask for your credit card number or bank account information to draft a fee, or ask for your social security number.

"Also, don't be fooled by companies that operate under names suggesting an association with the federal government but require you to pay for help to get a government grant," the group advises.

We may be living longer these days, but we're spending more of that time sick.

In fact, today's 20-year-old can expect to live one less healthy year over his or her lifespan than a 20-year-old from just ten years ago.

From 1970 to 2005, the probability of a 65-year-old surviving to age 85 doubled, from about a 20 percent chance to a 40 percent chance.

Many researchers presumed that the same forces allowing people to live longer, including better health behaviors and medical advances, would also delay the onset of disease and allow people to spend fewer years of their lives with debilitating illness.

But new research from Eileen Crimmins, AARP Chair in Gerontology at the University of Southern California, and Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, a postdoctoral fellow at the Andrus Gerontology Center at USC, shows that average "morbidity," or, the period of life spend with serious disease or loss of functional mobility, has actually increased in the last few decades.

"We have always assumed that each generation will be healthier and longer lived than the prior one," said Crimmins. "However, the compression of morbidity may be as illusory as immortality."

While people might be expected to live more years with disease simply as a function of living longer in general, the researchers show that the average number of healthy years has decreased since 1998.

We spend fewer years of our lives without disease, even though we live longer.

A male 20-year-old in 1998 could expect to live another 45 years without at least one of the leading causes of death: cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes.

That number fell to 43.8 years in 2006, the loss of more than a year. For young women, expected years of life without serious disease fell from 49.2 years to 48 years over the last decade.

At the same time, the number of people who report lack of mobility has grown, starting with young adults.

Functional mobility was defined as the ability to walk up ten steps, walk a quarter mile, stand or sit for 2 hours, and stand, bend or kneel without using special equipment.

A male 20-year-old today can expect to spend 5.8 years over the rest of his life without basic mobility, compared to 3.8 years a decade ago -- an additional two years unable to walk up ten steps or sit for two hours. A female 20-year-old can expect 9.8 years without mobility, compared to 7.3 years a decade ago.

"There is substantial evidence that we have done little to date to eliminate or delay disease while we have prevented death from diseases," said Crimmins.

At the same time, Crimmins said, there have been substantial increases in the incidences of certain chronic diseases -- specifically, diabetes.

From 1998 to 2006, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease increased among older men, the researchers found.

Both older men and women showed an increased prevalence of cancer.

And diabetes increased significantly among all adult age groups over age 30.

The proportion of the population with multiple diseases also increased.

Crimmins said the increasing prevalence of disease could simple reflect the medical community's increased ability to diagnose illness, "but what it most clearly reflects is increasing survival of people with disease."

"The cost of maintaining and providing care for people with chronic conditions is an important part of determining the economic well-being of countries with established social security and government-provided health services."

Crimmins and Beltran-Sanchez note that only delaying the onset of disease through preventive care will clearly lead to longer disease-free lives.

"The growing problem of lifelong obesity and increases in hypertension and high cholesterol are a sign that health may not be improving with each generation," said Crimmins.

"We do not appear to be moving to a world where we die without experiencing significant periods of disease, functioning loss, and disability."

The research is published in the December issue of the Journal of Gerontology.

Increasingly, consumers have to worry about being ripped off by so-called charities, not just shady businesses. States have begun stepping up their actions to warn and protect their citizens.

The State of Iowa has taken action against a Minnesota fundraiser it says was calling consumers in the state seeking donations for several law enforcement associations.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says the firm used deceptive tactics to solicit the money, and has now agreed to make changes in how it deals with consumers.

Public Safety Council, LLP, and Community Safety, LLC, both headquartered in Minneapolis, their subcontractor, Safety Services, LLC, of St. Paul, and their principals, J. Michael Callan and Robert T. Callan, have entered into an agreement with the Attorney General, called an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance.

Miller says telephone solicitors, working from a call center in St. Paul, called Iowa consumers on behalf of at least three Iowa law enforcement associations.  Several calls, which were recorded by the Consumer Protection Division, reveal unfair and deceptive conduct, Miller alleges. 

The respondents deny wrongdoing or liability of any kind.  The respondents solicited Iowans on behalf of the following organizations:

IowaStatePolice Association (ISPA)

It sound like a worthy cause, right? But Miller says of the total amount solicited from Iowans in donations to the Iowa State Police Association (ISPA), fundraisers retain 84 perent, and only 16 percent actually goes to ISPA. 

Based on recorded calls, the Attorney General alleges that telephone fundraisers failed to identify themselves as paid professional fundraisers; insinuated that they were directly associated with ISPA or a law enforcement agency; falsely inflated the amount of donations benefiting ISPA, by implying that as much as 100 percent of a donation goes to ISPA; and misrepresented how often they call potential donors.

IowaStateReserve Law Officers Association (ISRLOA)

Of the total amount solicited from Iowans in donations to the Iowa State Reserve Law Officers Association (ISRLOA), fundraisers retain 85 percent, and only 15 percent actually goes to ISRLOA, Miller says.  Based on recorded calls, the Attorney General alleges that telephone fundraisers failed to identify themselves as paid professional fundraisers; insinuated that they were directly associated with ISRLOA or a law enforcement agency; falsely inflated the amount of donations benefiting ISRLOA, by claiming that as much as 100 percent of a donation goes to ISRLOA; and misrepresented the solicitors' location.

IowaPeace Officers Association (IAPO)

Again, Miller says this group - formerly known as the Iowa Association of Chiefs of Police and Peace Officers - got only 16 percent of the collected funds. Based on recorded calls, the Attorney General alleges that telephone fundraisers failed to identify themselves as paid professional fundraisers; insinuated that they were directly associated with IAPO or a law enforcement agency; falsely inflated the amount of donations benefiting IAPO, by claiming that as much as 60 percent of a donation goes to IAPO; misrepresented when the donor would receive another call; and misrepresented the solicitor's location.

'Oregon names 20 worst charities'

In Oregon, Attorney General John Kroger has assembled a list of what he calls the state's "20 worst charities" and is urging consumers to avoid them. 

"It is important that generous Oregonians make charitable contributions to legitimate organizations," Kroger said. "Many charities do great work, but some are little more than scams that do little to help the people they claim to support."

In addition to increasing consumer awareness, Kroger will ask the 2011 Legislature to pass a law making Oregon the first state in the country to use the tax code to fight charities that spend most of the money they raise on telemarketers and administration.

The proposal will eliminate the Oregon tax deduction for donations to charities that spend less than 30 percent of the money they raise on the people they claim to support.

"This proposal will help kick sham charities out of Oregon," Kroger said. "If the rest of the country follows Oregon's lead, we could end the rampant abuse of non-profit laws."

State law requires charities to file periodic financial reports with the Oregon Department of Justice disclosing how much money the organization raised and how the funds were spent. The Department's Charitable Activities Section has identified20 organizationsthat spent more than 75 percent of the donations they collected on administrative costs and professional fundraising.

While guidelines issued by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) suggest that charitable organizations should spend at least 65 percent of their funds on charitable programs, every charity on the Department of Justice's list devoted less than 25 percent of their expenditures on charitable program activities.

At the top of the list is Shiloh International Ministries, which claims to solicit money to provide medical necessities and moral support to needy children and to provide assistance to the homeless. According to the most recent financial filings, the California-based non-profit spent an average of $937,315 per year, 96.37 percent of which went to management and fundraising.

No. 2 on the list is Law Enforcement Education Program, which supposedly raises money to educate teenagers on the effects of alcohol. The Michigan-based non-profit spent just 6.26 percent of the annual average $1,893,929 it raised on charitable purposes.

The Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library was one of many groups on the list that says it raises money to help veterans. The Illinois-based group spent 96.97 percent of the annual average $2,265,809 it raised on telemarketing and administration.

Just hang up

How do you avoid being deceived by a charity fundraiser? One way is to simply hang up when you get these calls. It's much better to choose your own charity projects to support from within your local community, supporting organizations you know something about.

However, if you are someone who wants to consider all appeals, Miller offers these tips:

• Ask questions.  Be wary of claims that the caller is a charity worker or volunteer, that most of your donation goes to the cause, or that your donation will be used locally. 

• Don't let a sympathetic charity name fool you- some fundraisers exaggerate or fabricate their support for veterans or military families, law enforcement, fire fighters, victims of disease, and children's causes.

• Ask phone solicitors to send written information. Be suspicious if they insist on a pledge before they'll send you information. 

• Don't give your credit card or checking account numbers over the phone to someone you don't know.

• Give directly to a known charity of your choice.

Bottom line: Keep giving generously, but give wisely!  Giving to a known charity you're confident about is often the best option.

Guys trying to put a little extra "oomph" into their sex life are being warned to stay away from a product called "Man Up Now."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the capsules, marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contain a variation of an active drug ingredient found in Viagra that can dangerously lower blood pressure.

Man Up Now claims to be "herbal" and "all natural" and consumers may mistakenly assume the product is harmless and poses no health risk. Consumers who have Man Up Now capsules should stop using them immediately.

Dangerous interaction possible

The FDA analyzed Man Up Now and determined that it contains sulfoaildenafil, a chemical similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. Like sildenafil, this chemical may interact with prescription drugs such as nitrates, including nitroglycerin, and cause dangerously low blood pressure.

When blood pressure drops suddenly, the brain is deprived of an adequate blood supply that can lead to dizziness or lightheadedness.

Man Up Now, distributed by Synergy Distribution LLC, is sold on Internet sites, online marketplaces, and possibly in retail outlets in single, double, and triple blister packs, and in six-, 12-, and 30-count capsule bottles.

No problems -- yet

FDA says it is not aware of any adverse events associated with the use of the product so far. However, sexual enhancement products that claim to work as well as prescription products, but contain prescription strength drugs, are likely to expose unknowing consumers to unpredictable risks and the potential for injury or death.

The FDA has found many products marketed as dietary supplements for sexual enhancement during the past several years that can be harmful because they contain active ingredients in FDA-approved drugs or variations of these ingredients.

Sexual enhancement products promising rapid effects such as working in minutes to hours, or long-lasting effects such as 24 hours to 72 hours, are likely to contain ingredients in FDA-approved drugs or variations of those ingredients.

File a report

The FDA advises consumers who have experienced any negative side effects from sexual enhancement products to consult a health care professional and to discard the product. Consumers and health care professionals should report adverse events to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

To request a form, call 800-332-1088, then complete and return it to the address on the form or submit by fax to 800-FDA-0178.

While hundreds of millions of glass baking dishes are used safely each year, hot glassware can shatter unexpectedly -- sometimes causing serious injuries, according to a year-long investigation by Consumer Reports (CR).

The report, which comes more than four years after ConsumerAffairs.com revealed the problem and jousted with bakeware company lawyers,  details several stories of glass bakeware breaking and shattering, including the case of a grandmother who said she opened her oven to baste a ham on Thanksgiving Day, only to have the glass dish shatter, sending pieces of glass and hot juices flying.

Investigation requested

After reviewing scores of consumer reports filed with federal regulators about bakeware unexpectedly shattering, Consumers Union (CU), the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to conduct a thorough study of glass bakeware on the market.

CU has also called on manufacturers to imprint warnings that are clearer and more prominent on their bakeware."Part of the problem is that the fine print warnings are so tiny and they're part of the packaging that consumers often throw out," said Andrea Rock, senior editor, Consumer Reports.

The report, available in the magazine's January issue, says that in a typical year, the two main manufacturers of glass bakeware -- World Kitchen, the maker of Pyrex in the U.S., and its competitor, Anchor Hocking -- collectively make on average more than 70 million units of what is undoubtedly a staple of most kitchens and a popular cooking tool when preparing holiday meals.

Caution for cooks

The report contains ten precautions that may surprise cooks who have used glass bakeware.To minimize the chances of the glassware shattering, consumers should read and save the safety instructions from their glass bakeware and follow these safety rules:

1. Always place hot glassware on a dry, cloth potholder or towel.
2. Never use glassware for stovetop cooking or under a broiler.
3. Always allow the oven to preheat fully before placing the glassware in the oven.
4. Always cover the bottom of the dish with liquid before cooking meat or vegetables.
5. Don't add liquid to hot glassware.
6. If you're using the dish in a microwave, do not use browning elements, and avoid overheating oil and butter.
7. Do not take dishes directly from the freezer to the oven or vice versa.
8. Never place hot glassware directly on a countertop (or smoothtop), metal surface, on a damp towel, in the sink, or on a cold or wet surface.
9. Inspect your dishes for chips, cracks, and scratches. Discard dishes with such damage.
10. To avoid risks associated with glass dishes, consider using metal bakeware for conventional and convection ovens.

CR's investigation

To find out about glass bakeware, CR conducted an investigation that included testing in its own labs and outside labs, and gathering information from manufacturers, government agencies, experts, and consumers.When Pyrex was first marketed in 1915, it was made of a heat-resistant glass called borosilicate that previously was used to prevent glass railroad lanterns from shattering.

While U.S. manufacturers of both Pyrex and Anchor Hocking have switched from borosilicate to soda lime glass for their glass bakeware, the magazine notes, samples of European-made glass bakeware obtained continue to consist of borosilicate.

The manufacturers say their soda lime glass has advantages and is less likely to break when dropped or bumped.While the results from Consumer Reports' limited impact tests were highly variable, some samples of soda lime glass showed the highest impact resistance.

The methods

Consumer Reports tested both types of glass in its lab to see how they compared in extreme conditions likely to cause breakage. To test the dishes, CR filled each pan with dry sand (which gets much hotter than food) and then placed the dishes in ovens set at varying temperatures.The testers then compared what happened when each hot dish was removed from the oven and placed on a wet granite countertop, a situation likely to induce thermal shock and contrary to each manufacturer's instructions for use.

The magazine notes that the bar was set high in the extreme tests because dishes that are scratched or damaged may not offer the same safety margin as new dishes, and users may ignore or be unaware of the usage instructions.

Ten out of ten times the soda lime glass broke after baking at 450 degrees. But in the same conditions, the European borosilicate glassware did not break, though most did after baking at 500 degrees.

Highlights

Some key highlights from the investigation include the following:

• Consumers in scores of cases reported glass bakeware unexpectedly shattering, according to federal documents, court papers, and interviews.When Consumer Reports examined 163 incidents (152 of which were from CPSC files) in detail, the analysis revealed 42 reports of injuries, ranging from minor burns or cuts to those requiring surgery. More than half of the incidents reportedly occurred while the bakeware was in the oven while almost a quarter occurred with the bakeware cooling on a counter or stovetop.
• When glass bakeware does shatter, consumers say, it can break into sharp shards that go flying, raising the risks of injuries. This contrasts with claims from one of the manufacturers that its glass bakeware breaks into "relatively small pieces generally lacking sharp edges.”

Michelle of New York, NY, says she wascooking BBQ turkey legs in a 375 degree oven using Anchor Hocking glass lasagna pans. "When I went to take it out," she writes ConsumerAffairs.com. "It exploded and shards of glass when flying everywhere. They even flew into my face and luckily I didn't get anything in my eye how ever in the process of cleaning up the mess, I cut my foot. Thank God my kids were not in the room when it happened."

"I placed a pork loin into my Pyrex dish and put it in a 425 degree oven," writes Megan of Newport News, VA. "Eight minutes into cooking I hear an explosion. I open my oven to find tiny pieces of glass EVERYWHERE and my pork loin lying on the oven rack. So glad nobody was around and the oven door was closed tightly when it happened. Beware!"

Recommendations

Consumers Union says manufacturers should imprint clearer and more prominent warnings on their bakeware, not just on the packaging that gets tossed upon first use.

While hundreds of millions of dishes are used safely each year, CU believes the situation is serious enough that it has asked the CPSC to conduct a thorough study of glass bakeware on the market, with particular attention to the difference between bakeware made of soda lime glass and borosilicate.

A new survey suggests that where you live might influence your readiness to retire and that the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area scored the highest among the country's 30 largest metropolitan areas.

The study, titled The New Retirement Mindscape 2010 City Pulse index, and sponsored by Ameriprise Financial, examined each city to determine where people were the most prepared for and confident about retirement.

Following Minneapolis-St. Paul, Raleigh-Durham came in second and Nashville third, while Los Angeles ranked last (30) just behind Indianapolis (ranked 29) and Orlando (ranked 28).

Each metropolitan area was scored based on responses to a national survey which measured consumers' likelihood to have determined the amount of money they need to save for retirement and their actual saving habits. The index also takes into account if people have planned for a variety of activities during retirement and expressed confidence about achieving their retirement goals.

More confidence

The biggest similarity between the top-ranked metro areas was that their residents made retirement planning a priority - and not just from a financial perspective. It was a tight race for the top spot, but Minneapolis-St. Paul managed to edge out Raleigh-Durham in part because its residents approached retirement with more confidence, suggesting higher levels of preparation.

Minneapolis-St. Paul scored significantly higher than the national average on nearly every factor related to retirement readiness. It had an impressive 83% of survey respondents who said they have set aside money for retirement, compared to a national average of 69%. This may help explain why nearly half (48%) of Twin Cities residents report feeling "on track” for retirement and a third (30%) say they are "very confident” in their financial future.

Raleigh-Durham does have a slight edge from one standpoint. In addition to being financially prepared, 80% of people surveyed say they've given a lot of thought to the activities they'd like to pursue during retirement. 

A similar trend was seen among Nashville residents, who were among the most likely to have given serious thought to the activities they'd like to pursue during retirement. And while the area shows only average levels of financial preparation, half of those surveyed report that they feel "on track" for retirement.

Economy appears to be significant factor in lowest ranked cities. And if retirement is a priority in the top three metropolitan areas, the opposite could be said for those at the bottom.

Findings suggest that, at least in Los Angeles, more immediate financial concerns may be taking precedence over retirement planning. In L.A., more than a third (36%) of those surveyed say they've experienced a career setback or a layoff in the past 18 months and 22% report that they are currently unemployed but planning to return to work. This may help explain why an astonishing 37% of its residents admit that they haven't given much thought to preparing for retirement - and only 57% have set aside money.

The sentiment is similar in Indianapolis, where a third (31%) of retirees say the economy has impacted their retirement plans, compared to a quarter (25%) of retirees nationwide. Here, just 42% of those surveyed have set aside money into their own savings or investments, and only 60% of people associate emotions like "happiness" and "optimism" with retirement.

Meanwhile, a mere 20% of those surveyed in Orlando say they've determined the income needed in retirement and a full 30% claim they haven't thought much about it. Some residents are deciding to return to work, as is the case for 5% of respondents - a rate more than two times the national average (2%). However, with a local unemployment rate above the national average, finding post-retirement jobs may be challenging.

Preparation and confidence appear misaligned in some major metro areas. For example, in Washington D.C. (which ranked 23rd), 80% of its residents are setting aside money for retirement - second only to top-ranked Minneapolis-St. Paul. However, confidence is lagging dramatically in the nation's capital. Some 40% of those surveyed expressed negative feelings when they thought about retirement, and the metro area ranked second to last on confidence factors.

The story may be clearer in number 12 San Francisco, which ranks fourth for preparation but 18th on confidence. The metro area has not been immune to the recession, which hit California especially hard. While employment figures for those surveyed are on par with the national average, other sources indicate a higher unemployment rate overall. Likewise, 36% of pre-retirees from this area say that they're planning to postpone retirement due to economic factors, which is significantly higher than the national average (26%).

Similar discrepancies are noted in Detroit (ranked 21), Tampa (ranked 19) and St. Louis (ranked 17), however in these metropolitan areas preparation lags significantly behind confidence. Whether people from these areas are overly confident or simply more resilient, it appears their emotions have made a faster recovery than the economy.

As for how all 30 metropolitan areas are ranked, here they are:

1.Minneapolis-St. Paul

2.Raleigh-Durham

3.Nashville

4.Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto

5.Seattle-Tacoma

6.San Diego

7.Hartford-New Haven

8.Denver

9.Baltimore

10.Boston

11.Dallas-Ft. Worth

12.San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose

13.Chicago

14.Houston

15.Atlanta

16.Phoenix

17.St. Louis

18.Pittsburgh

19.Tampa-St. Petersburg

20.Miami-Ft. Lauderdale

21.Detroit

22.Philadelphia

23.Washington D.C.

24.Portland

25.Cleveland-Akron

26.New York

27.Charlotte

28.Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne

29.Indianapolis

30.Los Angeles

The survey's state-by-state breakdown of drunk and drugged driving levels shows significant differences among the states.

Some of the states with the highest levels of past year drunk driving were Wisconsin (23.7 percent) and North Dakota (22.4 percent).

The highest rates of past year drugged driving were found in Rhode Island (7.8 percent) and Vermont (6.6 percent).

States with the lowest rates of past year drunk driving included Utah (7.4 percent) and Mississippi (8.7 percent).

Iowa and New Jersey had the lowest levels of past year drugged driving (2.9 percent and 3.2 percent respectively).

Levels of self-reported drunk and drugged driving differed dramatically among age groups, with younger drivers having a much higher likelihood of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Drivers aged 16 to 25 had a 19.5 percent rate of drunk driving while drivers 26 or older had an 11.8 percent rate.

Similarly, people aged 16 to 25 had a much higher rate of driving while under the influence of illicit drugs than those aged 26 or older (11.4 percent versus 2.8 percent).

The one bright spot in the survey is that there has been a reduction in the rate of drunk and drugged driving in the past few years.

Survey data from 2002 through 2005 combined when compared to data gathered from 2006 to 2009 combined indicate that the average yearly rate of drunk driving has dropped from 14.6 percent to 13.2 percent, while the average yearly rate of drugged driving has dropped from 4.8 percent to 4.3 percent.

Twelve states have seen reductions in the levels of drunk driving and seven states have experienced lower levels of drugged driving.

However according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) census, in 2009, one in three motor vehicle fatalities (33 percent) with known drug test results tested positive for drugs.

"Thousands of people die each year as a result of drunk and drugged driving, and the lives of thousands of family members and friends left behind are forever scarred,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D.

Hyde said some progress has been made in reducing the levels of drunk and drugged driving through education, enhanced law enforcement and public outreach efforts, however, "the nation must continue to work to prevent this menace and confront these dangerous drivers in an aggressive way.”

"While we have understood for some time the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, much less is known or discussed about drivers under the influence of other drugs,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy.

"This new data adds to other emerging research revealing that there is an alarmingly high percentage of Americans on our roadways with drugs in their system. At a time when drug use is on the rise, it is crucial that communities act today to address the threat of drugged driving as we work to employ more targeted enforcement and develop better tools to detect the presence of drugs among drivers.”

State Estimates of Drunk and Drugged Driving is based on the combined data from the 2002 to 2005 and 2006 to 2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and involves responses from more than 423,000 respondents aged 16 or over.

NSDUH is a primary source of information on national and state-level use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs (including non-medical use of prescription drugs) and mental health in the United States.

The survey is part of the agency's strategic initiative on behavioral health data, quality and outcomes.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) is calling for a federal probe of the nation's largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved lenders.

According to NCRC, an association of more than 600 community-based organizations, the lenders may be violating federal housing rules by refusing to offer loans to consumers who meet the FHA standard of a minimum credit score of 580 and above with a 3.5 percent down payment.

A recent NCRC investigation found that the majority of top FHA lenders failed to offer applications for federal-guaranteed loans to potentially qualified borrowers with credit scores below 620 or 640, even though FHA guarantees loans with credit scores to 580.

Discriminatory policies

These lenders have policies that establish "credit overlays" above the FHA policy, NCRC says, with minimum credit score requirements as high as 640. One-third of all consumers have credit scores under 620.

"Critical to our nation's economic progress is the ability of homeowners to get quality refinancing, and for homebuyers to reclaim vacant houses by accessing quality mortgage credit, " said John Taylor, NCRC President and CEO.

Taylor says the decision by some banks to not follow the FHA's policy is cutting qualified borrowers off from accessing credit, and in doing so, "causing harm to their ability to prosper, build wealth and for our economy to grow." He calls the decision "arbitrary," because the loans are fully guaranteed, whether the borrower's credit score is 580 or 780.

NCRC is filing complaints against 22 lenders who have policies that are not in compliance with the FHA's policy, claiming they violate the Federal Fair Housing Act, because the policy has a disparate impact on black and Latino communities.

NCRC probe

NCRC conducted "mystery shopping" tests on the nation's top FHA approved lenders. Of all lenders tested, 32, or 65 percent, refused to consider consumers with credit scores below 620. An additional 11, or 22 percent, refused to extend credit to consumers with credit scores below 640. Only five, or 10 percent, had policies in place that served consumers with credit scores at 580 and up, in accordance with the FHA underwriting policy. The FHA provides lenders guarantees on its loans, which historically have financed the mortgages of working class families.

"By denying access to FHA loans to qualified, creditworthy individuals, without regard for the actual risk posed to the institution, lenders are discouraging the flow of credit and capital into working class communities, including minority neighborhoods," said David Berenbaum, Chief Program Officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. "These policies amount to discrimination in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act."

NCRC also charges that the lenders' policies violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Community Reinvestment Act and is calling on the following agencies to investigate: the U.S. Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

NCRC has filed complaints against the following 22 lenders so far:

1. American Equity Mortgage, Inc.
2. American Financial Resources
3. Bank Of The West
4. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya
5. Citizens Financial
6. Envoy Mortgage
7. First Residential Mortgage
8. Franklin American Mortgage Co
9. Freedom Mortgage Corp.
10. Metlife Bank, N.A.
11. Nationstar Mortgage LLC
12. New Day Financial, LLC
13. New Penn Financial, LLC
14. Paramount Residential Mortgage
15. Phh Mortgage Corporation
16. Prospect Mortgage, LLC
17. Securitynational Mortgage
18. Shore Mortgage
19. Sierra Pacific Mortgage Co.
20. Stearns Lending, Inc.
21. Synovus/ Bank Of North Georgia
22. Wr Starkey Mortgage, LLP

Last week, my wife and I vowed to eat everything in our freezer before making another trek to the store. Well, almost everything. There were some two-year-old frozen tilapias that had somehow grown fur. But the idea was simple.

We decided to break what had become a habit of hoarding food. Not only was it inefficient, but it was also expensive. It seemed that every week we'd buy more food than we'd need and end up freezing what didn't get eaten, thinking we'd have it another day. But that other day rarely came or when it did, we would always choose what was fresh over what was frozen.

So this week we did something different. We only bought enough food to last us for the week. In fact, we even bought a little less than we thought we'd need because we always over-estimate.

It turns out what we were doing has actually become a trend and retail executives even have a name for it. We're called "just-in-time consumers.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, this trend has already prompted retailers to change the way they produce, package, price and deliver their goods. Like the Great Depression before it, the great recession has created its own generation of frugal savers along with a deeply changed consumer, one who only buys that he or she needs.

Buying big

The Journal notes that for over two decades, American consumers bought big, bought more and bought bulk often on credit. The recent recession with its high unemployment, plunging stock market and falling home prices have changed the way we consume. Manufacturers and retailers report that people are buying less but buying more frequently.

This change has been noticed by food and household-product manufacturers, including Del Monte and Kimberly-Clark. They're bringing out smaller package sizes for consumers who would rather buy a week's worth of toilet paper or dog food than stock up for a month. The Journal says that some grocers are trying to accommodate smaller but more frequent shopping trips. Even BJ's Wholesale Club is selling eggs and margarine in smaller lots.

Procter & Gamble has been tracking consumers' pantries since mid-2008 as gauge of how the recession has changed shoppers' behavior. They found that about one-third of consumers are changing their pantry levels with about 75% of those cutting back on inventory.

Finally, I can see the back of our freezer. So that's where the frozen blueberries went.

Researchers found significant changes for students who completed the program in areas such as attention, ADHD symptoms, planning and organization, initiating tasks, and working memory.

"This program really seemed to make a difference for many of the children with ADHD," said Steven Beck, co-author of the study an associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University. "It is not going to replace medication, but it could be a useful complementary therapy."

Beck said one of the encouraging findings was many parents found their children's ADHD symptoms improving after using the program. This is encouraging because the focus of the program is improving working memory, not symptom relief.   

Working memory is the ability to hold onto information long enough to achieve a goal.  Remembering a phone number long enough to dial it or a passage in a book that was just read are examples of working memory. It's also one of the major deficiencies found in people with ADHD.

"Working memory is critical in everyday life, and certainly for academic success, but it is one of the things that is very difficult for children with ADHD," Hanson said.

For the study, Beck and the other study researchers -- Christine Hanson and Synthia Puffenberger, graduate students in psychology at Ohio State -- tested software developed by a Swedish company called Cogmed, in conjunction with the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Stockholm.

The study participants were 52 students, aged 7 to 17, who attended a private school in Columbus, Ohio that serves children with learning disabilities, many of whom also have an ADHD diagnoses.   

All the children used the software in their homes, under the supervision of their parents and the researchers.

The software includes a set of 25 exercises that students had to complete within 5 to 6 weeks.  Each session is 30 to 40 minutes long.  The exercises are in a computer-game format and are designed to help students improve their working memory.  For example, in one exercise a robot will speak numbers in a certain order, and the student has to click on the numbers the robot spoke, on the computer screen, in the opposite order.

"At first the kids love it, because it is like a game," Puffenberger said.  "But the software has an algorithm built in that makes the exercises harder as the students get better.  So the children are always challenged."

Half the students participated at the beginning of the study.  The other half were wait-listed, and completed the software program after the others were finished.

Parents and teachers of the participating students completed measures of the children's ADHD symptoms and working memory before the intervention, one month after treatment, and four months after treatment.

Results showed that parents generally rated their children as improving on inattention, overall number of ADHD symptoms, working memory, planning and organization and in initiating tasks.  These changes were evident both immediately after treatment and four months later.

On individual measures, between one-fourth and one-third of the children showed clinically significant progress -- in other words, enough progress to be easily visible to their parents.

The teacher ratings, while pointed in the direction of improvement, were not strong enough to be statistically significant in this study.  

That's not surprising, Beck said, because very few treatment studies ever find significance among teacher measures.

"Teachers only see the kids for a few hours a day and they are dealing with a lot of other children at the same time.  It would be difficult for them to see changes," said Beck.

According to Beck, this is the first published study they know of testing this software in the United States.  One of the strengths of the study is that it used a very typical sample of children with ADHD -- other studies in Sweden had excluded children who were on medication.

"Most kids with ADHD are on some kind of medication, so it helps to know how this intervention works in these cases," he said.

In this sample, 60 percent of the students were on medication.  The results showed the program was equally effective regardless of whether they were on medication or not.

"Medication for ADHD does not help directly with working memory, and the training program does, so it can be useful," Beck said.

Beck said they can't say for sure how the program works to help kids with ADHD.  But it seems that children are learning how to focus and how to use their working memory on everyday tasks, and they are able to use that knowledge at school and home.

One possible criticism of the study could be that it relies on parental reports, and the parents may be biased.

"That's true, but it is also the parents who are observing the kids day in and day out, and they are the ones who would be most likely to observe any changes that occur," Beck said.

The researchers plan on extending the work by using more objective measures of children's progress after using the program.

Two other co-authors of the study were William Benninger, an adjunct assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State, and Kristen Benninger, a medical student at the University of Toledo

Beck, Hanson and Puffenberger have no financial interest in the company that makes the software.  William Benninger does have an interest, but was not involved in the collection of the data.

The study findings are published in the November/December 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology.

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas and other holidays just around the corner, consumers are in the mood to celebrate.

As a result, latest research from market intelligence provider Mintel finds that restaurant chains are responding to consumer demand by spicing up their menus with fall and winter offerings. Last year, food and beverage menu items featuring familiar fall ingredients and flavors -- such as pumpkin, squash, apple, cinnamon, caramel and hazelnut -- increased by 13 percent from the summer to fall season.

Catering to consumer wishes

"It's not uncommon for restaurant operators to update their menus to reflect fresh ingredients of each season," notes Kathy Hayden, foodservice analyst at Mintel. "The falling temperatures signal to restaurant-goers that it's time for a change to their palettes. Words like 'harvest' and 'spiced' are other menu cues that convey fall and winter flavors."

Pumpkin is an especially popular fall ingredient -- its incidence on menus increasing by a staggering 161 percent from summer to fall in 2009. During the same time frame, squash dishes shot up by 150 percent and menu items flavored with cinnamon and hazelnut rose by nearly five percent, respectively.

Cider also shows seasonal increases. Warm cider drinks have appeared in many of the major coffee chains: Tim Hortons has cider donuts, and cider vinaigrettes bring autumnal touches to salads.

Some of the latest seasonal limited-time-offers showing up on menus this year are: Culver's eggnog shake, Denny's gingerbread french toast, Panera Bread's mint crinkle cookie and Sonic's holiday spiced sugar cookie blast.

"Last week, Mintel Menu Insights released its 2011 food and menu trends, but the seasonality trend remains constant," adds Hayden. "For restaurants, seasonal dishes are a natural way to draw interest, but the challenge is not to simply add items to the menu, but to add items that resonate with your current customers and have enough seasonal interest to draw potential guests."

The Federal Reserve reports American businesses continue to sit on huge cash deposits and the amount appears to be growing.

In its latest report, the Fed said nonfinancial companies in the U.S. were holding $1.93 trillion in cash and other liquid assets at the end of September. That's up from $1.8 trillion at the end of June.

What about consumers? Since the economic meltdown of October 2008 Americans' saving rate has been on the rise. What should consumers be doing with their finances to maximize their financial stability in the year ahead?

"Building up a cash cushion and paying down debt are smart money moves no matter what your financial position," said Ethan Ewing, president of the financial websiteBills.com. "As more Americans have successfully adopted this strategy, it's time for them to demonstrate an even higher degree of financial savvy with some well-timed money maneuvers in 2011."

Ewing says there are nine steps consumers should take in 2011 to protect and build their money.

Revisit your monthly budget

A new year means a new budget. Calculate your monthly income, required monthly expenses, and then whittle down your discretionary spending. Allow for some flexibility and a few small luxuries to make it realistic, but be aggressive in cutting out extras. Be disciplined in your spending and saving - do not let extra savings one month increase your entertainment spending in the next.

Commit to reducing your debt or building your nest egg

If you still have credit card debt or a high interest secured loan, use the savings from your new, aggressive budget to begin paying it down. If you are debt free or are only paying down a low interest mortgage or auto loan, then be sure to build a nest egg equal to at least six months spending.

Ratchet up long-terms savings for retirement and college expenses

If you are fortunate enough to have paid off your debt and stashed away a sizable nest egg, then it's time to increase your retirement or college contributions. Be sure to max out retirement savings first because you can find loans for college if necessary. If your employer offers a 401(k) match, it's free money - take it.

Open a Health Savings Account (HSA)

If you are considering a high-deductible insurance plan, be sure to open an HSA to cover out of pocket medical expenses, including co-pays, health-related purchases, and more. Contributing to an HSA can lower your taxable income and allows your money to grow tax-deferred through retirement.

Re-bid your insurance provider

Insurance companies have also been hit hard by the recession. This means many will be even more aggressive to win your business. Comparison shop for cheaper home or auto insurance alternatives, but be sure to pay attention to differences in coverage so you remain adequately insured. You may find that your current provider is not the most affordable, or that they are willing to drop their rates to retain your business.

Research mortgage refinance rates on your home

Even if you refinanced your home in 2010, it makes sense to research rates again. For many homeowners, record low rates means you can save money and interest over the life of your loan with another home refinance. The Bills.com mortgage calculator provides an easy way to decide if a refinance makes sense for you.

Re-evaluate your monthly utilities

You can save hundreds of dollars a year by comparison shopping or reducing monthly utility bills such as television, Internet, and cell phone. More and more Americans are cutting the cord of traditional cable or satellite and finding basic or premium television content online in order to save money. Similarly, streaming movies offer a cheaper alternative to the Cineplex. Shop high speed Internet and cell phone providers for better rates, or consider reducing your Internet speed or cell phone minutes to save on monthly usage. Basic utilities such as garbage, home security, and recycling can also be bid out.

Assess healthcare and health insurance changes

Update your monthly budget with savings included. Check against actual spend.

With your new utility, insurance, and healthcare savings offsetting increases in retirement and college tuition contributions, rebalance your monthly budget. Tuck away additional extra income into your HSA or rainy day fund. As you approach the end of January, check your actual spending amounts against your expected budget to ensure accuracy.

I know it's a convenience but I still hate to pay a machine just to get access to my own money. Paying fees to use an automated teller machine, or ATM as they're better known, is one of my pet peeves. In fact, I'll go out of my way to either use one of the banks' ATMs where I have an account to avoid paying any fee, or go to Costco, where the ATM machine only charges 75 cents.

It's those times when I'm stranded and surrounded by every type of major branch imaginable except mine that I really sent forking over $3 to take a couple a hundred bucks out of my account. It's not like the bank has to pay someone to do this. It's all automatic.

Now, I grant you three dollars isn't going to clean me out. But let's say I go to the ATM once a week. Those little charges start to add up to $156 a year just to access my own money.

Fortunately, CNNMoney.com has put together a list of banks and other institutions that will let you access your money from just about any ATM for free.

In fact, Ally bank, Charles Schwab, and USAA not only let all of their customers use out of network ATMs free of charge, but they also refund the fees that their customers are charged by other banks. State Farm Bank also doesn't charge you for going out of network and reimburses fees of up to $10 charged by other banks.

BBVA Compass gives most customers rebates of ATM fees charged by other banks if customers mail ATM receipts or account statements showing the fees to the bank within 90 days of the transaction.

Clear Sky Accounts waives ATM fees of up to $20 each month, while Bank of Internet USA refunds fees up to $8 for its checking accounts. Century Bank allows up to six non-Century ATM transactions per month.

EverBank allows customers unlimited use of out-of-network ATMs, but only if they maintain an average daily balance of $5,000. PNC has a similar deal but only makes customers carry a minimum balance of $2,000.

In addition, many credit unions have nationwide ATM networks, so they can also be good alternatives to the big banks. Alliant Credit Union gives members free access to a network of more than 80,000 ATMs. Customers can make eight free transactions a month and are charged $1 for every transaction beyond that.

Nicole Sturgill, research director at TowerGroup, says there are thousands of banks that don't charge for going out of network. She adds that "essentially any bank that doesn't have a lot of ATMs will not charge their customers when they use another bank's ATM because it's rather hard to justify charging out of network if you only have 10 ATMs."

Comparatively, Bank of America, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase all charge non-customers $3 to use their ATMs and charge their own customers $2 for using other ATMs. Wells Fargo charges non-customers $3 and charges its own customers $2.50 for going out of network.

At Capital One, it costs customers $2 to use other ATMs and $2.75 for non-customers to use Capital One ATMs, but the bank refunds up to $10 of ATM fees for customers using its online checking accounts.

Non-customers are charged as little as $1.75 and as much as $3 to use HSBC ATMs. But HSBC customers are charged the least for using other ATMs, $1.50. And this is waived for customers with Premier and Plus accounts.