Current Events in January 2011

A massive, 50-state probe of lenders' foreclosure policies and practices may be close to a settlement, at least with five of the nation's largest mortgage banks.

In a telephone interview with Bloomberg News, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who heads the investigation, said the states will first ink settlements with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co. and Ally Financial, formerly GMAC Mortgage.

"What we're looking at is five separate agreements with the five largest servicers," Miller told the news agency. "We're still a ways away" from reaching agreements, he said. "We're working very hard to figure out what should be in the settlement."

In October, all 50 state attorneys general joined a single investigation of foreclosure practices after details of "robo-signing" and other mortgage company short-cuts began to surface in legal depositions. In 23 states a mortgage company official is required to read all foreclosure documents and sign in the presence of a notary that they have reviewed the documents and the foreclosure is justified.

A number of states quickly began individual investigations of these reports, and in some cases took legal action. On October 6, 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray filed suit against GMAC; its parent, Ally Financial Inc.; and one of its employees, Jeffrey Stephan.

According to the lawsuit, GMAC and its employees committed fraud on Ohio consumers and Ohio courts by signing and filing at least hundreds and potentially thousands of false affidavits in foreclosure cases. The alleged fraud came to public light after Stephan testified in depositions out of Florida and Maine that he signed thousands of affidavits without personal knowledge or verifying the content.

In Arizona that same month, Attorney General Terry Goddard called on the legislature to enact a Borrowers' Bill of Rights that would crack down on unscrupulous mortgage servicing activities.

Joining forces

In late October all the individual investigations were rolled into one, with Miller taking the lead. The Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group, comprised of state attorneys general in all 50 states, and state banking and mortgage regulators in more than three dozen states, has been exploring whether individual mortgage servicers have improperly submitted documents in support of foreclosures.

Specifically, the group has investigated whether companies misrepresented on affidavits and other documents that they reviewed and verified supporting foreclosure documentation.  The group is also attemptting to determine whether companies also signed affidavits outside the presence of a notary public, along with other possible issues regarding servicing irregularities or abuses.

If settlements are reached with the five major lenders, they would be the first so far. Miller said the five hold 59 percent of the U.S. mortgage market.

In news that will probably add to the mystique surrounding cats even further, new research suggests oftentimes when cats miss the litter box, throw up hairballs, or refuse food, they’re not physically sick, they’re just stressed out.

According to the Ohio State University study, healthy cats were just as likely as chronically ill cats to refuse food, vomit frequently and leave waste outside their litter box in response to environmental stress -- namely, changes in their routine.

Veterinary clinicians refer to these upsetting acts as “sickness behaviors.”

Comparing cats

The researchers documented sickness behaviors in healthy cats and in cats with feline interstitial cystitis, known as IC, a chronic illness characterized by recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and often both an urgent and frequent need to urinate.

When the cats experienced what were called “unusual external events,” such as a change in feeding schedule or caretaker, the healthy cats were just as likely to exhibit sickness behaviors as were the chronically ill cats.

The two groups had the same number of sickness behaviors in response to unusual events, and both groups were at more than three times the risk of acting sick when their routines were disrupted.

Previous research has indicated a diagnosis of IC in cats is strongly associated with a number of other health problems. The researchers say the fact healthy cats exhibit some of the same problems as cats with IC in the face of stress suggests veterinary clinicians should consider cats’ environmental conditions during assessments for health problems.

Environmental factors

“For veterinary clinicians, when you have a cat that’s not eating, is not using the litter box or has stuff coming up out of its mouth, the quality of the environment is another cause that needs to be addressed in coming up with a diagnosis,” said Tony Buffington, professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Ohio State and senior author of the study.

Interestingly enough, this research project didn’t begin as a study of cats’ tendency to exhibit sickness behaviors, but to better understand chronic disease.

Ohio State’s Veterinary Medical Center was housing 12 healthy cats and 20 cats with IC, including those at risk of euthanasia because their previous owners were unable to tolerate their sickness behaviors, for a variety of other research efforts.

Judi Stella, a doctoral candidate in veterinary preventive medicine, was the primary caretaker of this colony of cats.

Based on previous work by Buffington about the benefits of environmental enrichment for cats that stay indoors, Stella spent months setting up a standardized feeding, play and cleaning schedule that seemed the least stressful for all of the cats.

Stella, lead author of the study, said she noticed the cats with IC started to look better and act healthier, like the healthy cats; they had shinier coats and none of them missed the litter box or vomited for two weeks.

“At the time, we assumed the IC cats were always going to have these problems. When I started looking at the data, it was the lack of sickness behaviors that tipped me off. It was not expected,” said Stella.

Stella observed the cats for 77 weeks, staying on the same schedule. Then, the cats’ environment was disrupted a few times: feeding schedules changed, a temporary caretaker stepped in when Stella went on vacation, or if the cats didn’t get enough playtime.

All the cats, even the ones without IC, would exhibit sickness behaviors during those times of stress.

During control weeks, when the routine was unaltered, the healthy cats, on average, exhibited 0.4 sickness behaviors and the cats with IC exhibited 0.7 sickness behaviors – virtually no difference.

Similarly, during weeks containing unusual external events, those numbers increased to 1.9 sickness behaviors for healthy cats and 2.0 sickness behaviors for cats with interstitial cystitis. Overall, this translated to a 3.2-fold increase in the risk for sickness behaviors by all cats when their routines were disrupted.

The three most common sickness behaviors -- vomiting, urination or defecation outside the litter box and decreased food intake -- accounted for 88 percent of all sickness behaviors in healthy cats and 78 percent of sickness behaviors in the cats with IC.

Buffington noted that these three signs of illness are among those that often lead pet owners to take their cats to a veterinarian for evaluation. And interestingly, these sickness behaviors also are seen in other captive housing environments, such as zoos, kennels and shelters.

Making changes

So how does a cat owner enrich the animal’s environment?

In this study, this included routine care and feeding at the same time every morning, keeping food and litter boxes in consistent locations, daily cleaning of cages, provision of a clean litter box, regularly washed bedding, hiding boxes, numerous commercial cat toys and classical music for one to two hours each day.

Stella also released all cats from their cages for 60 to 90 minutes each afternoon to allow them to interact and play with toys or use climbing and scratching posts.

“I think a huge part of this is giving cats resources they can interact with and control. Litter boxes and food bowls go without saying, but I also think that equally important are predictable schedules and some semblance of control so they don’t feel trapped. And their humans can focus on quality interaction rather than the quantity of interaction. Understanding how they live in the world can allow humans to interact with them more effectively,” Stella said.

Common vs. normal

There is also a need to recognize that what might be seen as common isn’t necessarily normal.

“There is not another mammal on the planet that wouldn’t be hospitalized for throwing up once a week,” Buffington said. “Vomiting hairballs is not normal. What we think happens is that stress changes motility in their stomach and that leads to vomiting. Pet owners have to recognize that vomiting is not normal in cats.”

Variables

The researchers noted a few other findings of interest: Older cats had a higher risk for an increase in the total number of sickness behaviors and for an increase in upper gastrointestinal symptoms and avoidance behavior. The oldest cat in the study was 8 years old.

In addition, the sickness behaviors of cats with interstitial cystitis were reduced even though they were not treated with any drugs and were eating commercially available dry food, which suggests these cats do not require drugs or special diets as part of their therapy.

“What we found, in other clinical studies and with this study, is that by enriching the environment, you can reduce IC cats’ symptom burden by about 75 or 80 percent,” Buffington said.

This is good news for anyone affected by IC since, according to Buffington, there is currently no good drug therapy for cats, or in people, for that matter, with the disorder.

“You get the environment right and they’ll recover,” Buffington said. “It’s like having lactose intolerance -- you can’t put the corrective gene into the intestinal tract, but you can teach people to avoid milk sugar and that’s just as good. That’s what we’re doing -- teaching these cats how to avoid threats that cause stress.”

The study is published in the Jan. 1, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The race for the lead in smartphones remains very close, but Apple has a slight lead, according to the Nielsen Company.

When it comes to operating systems (OS) for smartphones, Apple's iPhone has 28.6 percent of the market, followed by the Research In Motion's (RIM) Blackberry OS at 26.1 percent and the Android OS at 25.8 percent.

On the move

Though it's currently in third place, Android has been quickly catching up. The Nielsen numbers show that the Android is the most popular OS among consumers who purchased a smartphone in the last six months, leading the field with a 40 percent marketshare.

But Apple's overall lead is all the more notable when you consider that it was achieved with one product -- the iPhone -- and with consumers on just one cellular network, AT&T.

RIM offers different Blackberry models on more than one carrier. The Android OS is used by Motorola, Samsung and several other manufacturers, meaning there is more product out there for consumers to buy.

Year of the smarthphone

The Nielsen numbers suggest 2010 was the year of the smartphone, with strong demand for the devices, especially late in the year. All three smartphone OS leaders -- Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry and Android -- are benefiting from strong demand for smartphones.

In November, 45 percent of recent acquirers chose a smartphone over a feature phone, used only for voice communications and texting.

While Android sales have momentum going into 2011, it remains to be seen what a long-anticipated iPhone for the Verizon network, the nation's largest, will mean for Apple sales. An analyst at Piper Jaffray says there's a 95 percent chance Apple will launch a Verizon iPhone in the next 12 months.

The times they are a-changin' when it comes to electronic devices.

A new survey predicts consumers will buy 39 percent fewer personal computers this year compared with 2010 and that sales of simple mobile phones (not smartphones) will drop by 56 percent.

At the same time, the survey conducted by Accenture, sees consumption of 3-D TVs jumping an amazing 500 percent, tablet computers rising 160 percent and smartphones increasing 26 percent.

The global management consulting firm says the findings raise the question as to whether -- in the long run -- desktop and laptop PCs in the home will be replaced by newer technology alternatives such as tablet computers, netbooks, smartphones and e-book readers.

Good-bye PC?

The survey of more than 8,000 consumers in eight countries found respondents are using multiple devices such as tablets and smart phones for activities that used to be done on their personal computers. For example, 75 percent of U.S. respondents emailed each week from their PCs in 2010 versus 80 percent the year before.

Kumu Puri, senior executive with Accenture's Electronics & High-Tech Practice, says it appears the PC market -- at least for consumers  -- has reached a level of saturation and will continue to see diminished growth rates. He added that there's increasing potential for an end in sight for the relevance of the personal computer in the home as we know it today.

3-D TVs

Even though content in 3-D television remains somewhat limited, purchase rates are expected to grow 500 percent, which is faster than all of the 19 technologies included in the survey. As consumer electronics companies consider ways to increase demand for 3-D TVs, price emerged as the biggest lever for driving greater interest in this new technology product.

According to the survey, 57 percent of respondents said they would be more inclined to buy a 3-D TV if the price were within their budget. Finding this price point was more significant among respondents under 24 years old (64 percent) than respondents who were older (50 percent).

Other factors respondents said would make them more inclined to buy a 3-D TV included having greater availability of content and not having to wear 3-D glasses.

Chinese consumers

Interestingly, among respondents in all eight countries surveyed, Chinese consumers were among the most enthusiastic purchasers and users of the latest consumer technologies. While only two-to-three percent of respondents in most countries own a 3-D TV, twice as many Chinese say they own one and 69 percent want or plan to own a 3-D TV, compared with only 25 percent of U.S. consumers.

The survey also found that Chinese respondents are big users of smartphones. More than half (53 percent) currently own a smartphone versus one-third of U.S. respondents. Furthermore, smartphones are predicted to be the most purchased device in China next year, with 38 percent of those surveyed planning to buy one.

The survey was released just in time for the huge Consumer Electronics Show opening in Las Vegas this Thursday.

Here's one interesting nugget. Guess what's not at the Consumer Electronics Show? Consumers. They're not even allowed to attend. It's only for industry employees and reporters.

The rest of us only get to watch snippets on our smart phones or read about it on our tablet computers.

Though 2010 offers a few hopeful signs of economic recovery, its clear millions of consumers are still struggling.

Consumer bankruptcies increased nine percent nationwide in 2010 from the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC).

The data showed the overall consumer filing total for the 2010 calendar year reached 1,530,078 compared with the 1,407,788 total consumer filings recorded during 2009. Annual consumer filings have increased each year since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Prevention Act was enacted in 2005.

Little improvement expected

What will 2011 bring? ABI isn't holding out much hope that things will improve.

"The steady climb of consumer filings notwithstanding the 2005 bankruptcy law restrictions demonstrate that families continue to turn to bankruptcy as a result of high debt burdens and stagnant income growth," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect that consumer filings will continue to rise in 2011."

NBKRC's data also showed that the 118,146 consumer filings recorded in December 2010 represented a four percent increase from the 113,274 filings in December 2009. The December 2010 consumer filings also represented a three percent increase from the November 2010 total of 114,587.

Chapter 13 filings constituted 30 percent of all consumer cases in December, a slight increase from November.

Consumers who had been living on credit may account for a significant portion of those filing for bankruptcy protection. The Federal Reserve reports U.S. consumer credit has fallen in 19 of the last 21 months. Part of that is attributable to consumers paying down debt, but in many cases, credit card companies have closed accounts and lowered credit limits for consumers.

The 2005 bankruptcy law was intended to reduce the number of bankruptcies, but filings have only increased since its passage. In a prescient April 2005 forecast, Global Insight, Inc., predicted a dramatic rise in U.S. bankruptcies.

"We can see clearly the connection between economic conditions and bankruptcy filings," Mark Lauritano, managing director of Global Insight's Financial Practice, said more than five years ago. "In the next few years, as interest rates rise and recent income gains begin to slow, consumer debt burdens will increase both in dollar terms and as a percentage of income. These debt burdens will drive bankruptcy filing rates up."

It was a goofy business to begin with: a secondary market in life insurance policies in which thousands of older people tried to make a quick buck by taking out multi-million dollar life insurance policies on themselves and then selling the policies to investors.

Between 2004 and 2008, tens of billions of dollars in these insurance policies actually changed hands. Under the deals, the investors would pay the premiums until the insured person dies, at which point they could then collect the death benefit.

Bottom falls out

Then when the bond market declined making some policies less profitable than expected, the market went bust. That's when the insurers filed hundreds of lawsuits in an attempt to cancel policies they claim were never intended as estate-planning tools, but were instead meant to enrich investors speculating on the lives of the elderly.

The industry also asked regulators to stop investors from wagering with their products. Now, some investors are filing their own suits claiming that insurers' own agents and managers had encouraged investor-driven sales to boost their compensation, and that the industry cried foul only when faced with big payouts on the policies.

The investors want the insurers to be forced to honor the contracts, or to refund all of the premiums they've paid. Some are seeking punitive damages. The claims appear in filings in state and federal courts nationwide, involving dozens of policies.

Living longer

The life-policy secondary market was one of many that went up in smoke during the financial meltdown of 2008-2009. But it was also hurt by revised actuarial tables, which show older people living longer. Some of the suits have been filed by relatives of the deceased elderly, alleging that death benefits belong to the family members.

The insurers contend they are acting in the name of good public policy: state insurable interest laws require an insurance buyer to have a bigger stake in the insured person's continued well-being than in his death, something the investors clearly didn't.

Meanwhile, in a lawsuit filed in Texas, investors allege that insurers including American International Group (AIG) similarly once welcomed stranger-originated policies as a way to boost revenue. They claim AIG relaxed or disregarded their own underwriting guidelines, disregarded any issues or 'red flags' raised in the underwriting process, and did not seek information that they now contend, after the fact, to be material.

In court filings, AIG denies the allegations and has alleged misrepresentation and fraud on the part of the investors.

The nation's foreclosure calamity has focused blame on mortgage brokers and lenders. Just think subprime loans, pushed on borrowers who couldn’t really afford the over-priced homes they were buying.

Then there’s the whole robo-signer foreclosure mess, in which loan servicers got caught cutting corners in the foreclosure process. You can be forgiven if you’ve concluded that lenders are the bad guys in all of this.

But you might be wrong. At least, you might be wrong concluding all lenders are to blame for the imploded housing market. New research shows how some banks may have actually reduced the default risk of their homebuyers.

Who are these helpful lenders? Researchers found that low-income homeowners who received a mortgage from a local lender, in or near their community, were less likely to default on their loans than are those who borrowed from a more distant bank or big, national mortgage company.

Even if two similar homeowners received the same home loan, with the same interest rate, the one who got the loan at the local lender might be better off in the long run.

"The door you walk into when you're looking for a loan matters a lot," said Stephanie Moulton, assistant professor in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University. "Local banks seem to offer some protection to homebuyers, particularly those with low incomes who may be seen as risky borrowers."

Not all banks are equal

A few other studies have found that borrowers who get mortgages from banks rather than mortgage brokers are less likely to default on their loans.  But Moulton said this new research is among the first to find that not all banks are equal, and that bank location is a key.

Moulton's research looks at homebuyers who have participated in state administered Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) programs.  MRB programs are funded through tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, and help lower-income, first-time home buyers by offering affordable mortgages. In contrast to the subprime mortgage product that offered high-interest rate loans, the MRB loan product provides market or below-market interest rate loans to similar borrowers.

Moulton previously studied Indiana's program, and is now researching the one in Ohio. Overall, her findings from both studies show that delinquency and default rates for state MRB programs are much lower than the rates for subprime or even other conventional loans to similar borrowers.

However, Moulton finds that there are significant differences by lender. For some lenders, fewer than nine percent of their MRB borrowers were ever 60 days late in making a payment.  However, for other lenders, up to 37 percent of their borrowers were similarly late in making payments.

"I was trying to find out why there was such a wide variation in default rates, even though they were all offering the same loan product," Moulton said. 

Local is better

Both studies show that for higher-risk borrowers (those with credit scores below 660), delinquency and foreclosure rates are significantly lower if they got their mortgage from a local lender.

Moulton emphasized that this effect is not due to the loan product, as all borrowers receive the same type of mortgage, including interest rate, through the program. And personal characteristics of the borrowers, such as credit score, debt and income, are controlled for in the analysis.  In other words, the effect truly seems to be related to the localness of the bank, and not other hidden factors.

In the Indiana study, recently published in Housing Policy Debate, Moulton examined the loan performance of more than 5,000 homebuyers who purchased homes between 2004 and 2006. Higher-risk borrowers with loans from lenders with a lot of local loan activity (a high concentration of loans in the county where the homebuyer bought their home) were much less likely to be late on their mortgage or enter foreclosure, than homebuyers with loans from non-local lenders.

In the Ohio analysis, presented recently at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management conference in Boston, Moulton is studying the loan performance of more than 20,000 homebuyers who purchased homes between 2005 and 2008. Rather than focusing on the location of the lender's loan activity, this study examines the location of bank branches relative to where the homebuyers purchased their homes.

Again, Moulton finds that higher-risk homebuyers with loans from banks with branches close to their new homes were significantly less likely to default on their mortgages.

What’s the difference?

But what is it about local banks that makes them better choices for many low-income borrowers? Moulton said she believes it has to do with the type of information banks collect on potential borrowers, and the support they offer to their borrowers.

Many mortgage brokers base their decisions on whether to offer a mortgage on one or more key numbers, such as a credit score.  In other words, if your credit score is above a certain level, and you meet other criteria, the broker will offer the loan.  The same may be true of large, non-local banks, Moulton said.

But local lenders may place more weight on other factors, such as how long you've been working for your current employer, and whether you make regular deposits in a savings account.

"This kind of information may give a more complete picture of whether a person can really afford a mortgage, particularly for higher-risk borrowers," Moulton said.

"Some of the local bankers told me they won't even look at a credit score until they have talked to an individual and determined if they think he or she can make the payments."

In addition, local bankers are more likely to have a continuing relationship with the borrower, through the checking and savings accounts held by the customer.

"If there's a relationship, the borrower may feel more obligated to make their payments.  And the banks may provide more education and information to the borrowers, equipping them to be better homeowners," she said.

The results of these studies suggest that policies aimed at making homeownership affordable may need to expand their focus, Moulton said.

"A lot of policies concentrate on the loan itself, and that's definitely important.  But for higher-risk, lower-income borrowers, mortgage institutions also matter quite a bit," she said. "These borrowers need to work with lenders that will properly evaluate their application and give them support after they receive the mortgage."

A recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that three out of four Americans feel that money is the primary source of stress in their lives and that goes beyond the current economic climate that has put most of us under a little financial stress.

What the APA and other studies are finding is that money, even when you have it, can be the source of stress and anxiety that lead to a number of problematic financial behaviors.

Nikiya Spence is a licensed financial therapist (LCSW) and Certified Money Coach with over ten years of clinical experience. She treats a host of clients for such money related issues as: spending addictions and over-spending, under-spending, which is often associated with depression; serial borrowing, and financial infidelity, in which one spouse cheats on another by spending money and lying about it.

In an interview with ConsumerAffairs.com, the Georgia-based Spence says she became a financial therapist when she noticed many of her clients had stress-related money issues that interfered with their well-being and their relationships. So she took specialized training with money coaches, who work with people to help them identifying their subconscious conflicts with money.

"People inherit problems around money from their family and this can have to do with spending and how they grow to feel about money in general," said Spence. "These underlying feelings can cause problems when it comes to finances if you're not aware of them. My job is to help people get in touch with those feelings and gain an understanding about where they came from and what can be done to deal with them."

Financial infidelity

A recent trend she's been dealing with is financial infidelity, where someone is spending money secretly and not telling their partner about it because they're either ashamed or afraid of how the other person will react.

"I try to get them to understand the effect this dishonesty has on the other person," she says, "And to understand why they do it."

The emerging field of financial therapy has only been around for the past few years but it can be beneficial to people who are open to understanding and changing their money patterns and beliefs. Often, their relationship with money is deeply rooted, explains Spence.

As described by Spence, financial therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to help people gain clarity around their dysfunctional emotions, thoughts, and behaviors as it relates to managing and/or coping with finances. Overall, it is a process that incorporates the emotional, behavioral, spiritual, and financial components of a person as a whole.

Financial therapists help people by exploring how their past relationships and family interactions have impacted their relationship with money; developing a more balanced and successful relationship with money; having a conscious relationship with money; developing a plan to cope with money stress and anxiety; and understanding how money plays a role in their daily life and relationships.

Spence says it's important for people to learn how to work with a spouse or significant other to satisfy their collective goals; to learn how to have a more peaceful relationship with money; and to transforming destructive financial behaviors into healthy ones.

If you feel that you have trouble dealing with money or that it may be causing you undue stress and anxiety, contract the Financial Therapy Association for a referral.

It was just a few years ago when an unknown company named Vizio came out of nowhere and within a very short time became a dominant player in the high-definition flat-screen television market. Now, that television company is about to enter two new battlefields, the tablet computer and the smart phone.

If Apple, which has seemed oblivious to all previous announcements about new PC powered tablets isn't worried, maybe it should be. Today, Vizio is a top seller of high definition televisions and it did it by offering at least passable performance at a lower price than Sony, Panasonic and Samsung which had previously owned the market.

So when Vizio announces that it's coming out with a new tablet, called the VIA, that has an eight-inch high resolution touchscreen with three speakers for stereo audio, in portrait or landscape mode, and a front-facing camera for video chat, then all the other players should take notice.

Not without problems

Vizio's growth has not been without problems, though. It is one of the top complaint magnets in ConsumerAffairs.com's Home Electronics section, with nearly 500 complaints from consumers whose flat-screen sets fizzled out, in some cases right out of the box and in others are a year or two of service.

"One day the television worked fine, the next day nothing came on the screen but there was sound. I've only had the TV 2 years, hardly use it," said Rebecca of Mokena, Ill. .

Ronald of Westchester, Calif., is no stranger to Vizio failures. He reported that he bought a Vizio TV from Costco four years ago. But when he took it home and plugged it in, the screen was blank. The company shipped him a replacement within two days and he was a happy camper.

But then, more than four years later, the same thing happened. This time, Vizio was no help, telling Ronald his TV was out of warranty.

"I do not believe the lifespan on a TV should be allowed only four years," Ronald said.

Such incidents are not unique to Vizio, however. In fact, while 480 consumers have complained to date of Vizio problems, pricier Samsung has racked up nearly three times as many complaints – 1,250 at last count. Sony has 490, Panasonic 560.

While consumer complaints shouldn't be taken lightly, these figures would seem to indicate that Vizio's quality – while perhaps not superlative – is at least equivalent to that of its higher-priced Asian competitors.

Heavy on features

At the very least, Vizio is providing strong competition in terms of specifications and features. The Vizio VIA smartphone features a four-inch high-resolution touch-screen with 5-Megapixel camera for photos and HD video capture, and a front-facing camera for video chat. Both devices include high definition video playback with HDMI video output, high quality audio processing and built-in universal remote control app that make these the ideal handheld companions to the HD entertainment experience. They both run on Google's Android Platform.

Vizio, headquartered in Irvine, California, became the first American brand in over a decade to lead in U.S. TV sales.

Matthew McRae, Vizio's chief technology officer, declined to provide prices, but said the company's strategy will be to make affordable products with innovative features. Meanwhile, other companies like Toshiba, Research in Motion, Motorola, Microsoft and Hewlet Packard will be introducing new tablets at this year's Consumer Electronics show, which begins Thursday in Las Vegas.

Industry analysts will be looking at such features is the ability to watch high-quality video including 3D.

Industry analysts predict more than 24 million tablet computers will be sold in the United States this year, up from 10.3 million in 2010. The research firm IDC expects to see 42 million tablet sales worldwide in 2011.

As of October, Apple had sold 7.46 million iPads worldwide, according to the company's last reported figures. It had virtually no competitors all year, until the Samsung Galaxy Tab became available in November. Samsung says it has sold 1.5 million Galaxy Tabs since then.

Many companies are withholding the specifics of their tablets until they are formally introduced. But those who have discussed their plans say they will both offer specific features that the iPad is lacking, and undercut their competitors on price. Competitors will be trying to distinguish themselves by price.

Enspert, a Korean manufacturer, is planning to introduce an Android tablet with a seven-inch screen for under $350 and sell it in the United States this year. By the end of the summer, the tablet, the Identity Tab, will also be available with a data plan through a major wireless carrier for about $100.

Vizio says its small size keeps the company nimble and keeps its costs down. For example, it says it developed the new phone and tablet over the past year and a-half by a team of fewer than 10 people.

A key part of Vizio's strategy is to make it easy for customers to access Internet services across all of its products. The interface on the tablet and phone will have the same look and feel that the company uses on its TV sets. The new products will have ports for HDMI connections too, so the tablet and phone can be hooked up to TV sets to display high-definition video on the bigger screen.

The devices also will provide access to Vizio's Via Plus Internet service, which lets users access apps such as Netflix streaming movie downloading service, the Android Market and the Facebook and Twitter social-networking sites.

Many health-conscious food shoppers often choose products listed with "zero trans fat." But because of the way the law is written, they still may be purchasing items containing some trans fat.

And now new research suggests that small amount of trans fat that slips in under the label requirement could be medically significant.

Current law requires that fat content of greater than five grams be listed in one gram increments, less than five grams be listed in .5 gram increments, and lower than .5 grams as containing zero grams of fat. Meaning, if a product has .49 grams of trans fat, the label can list the trans fat content as zero.

An article by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine student Eric Brandt, published in the January/February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, reveals that label loophole can result in medically significant intake of harmful trans fat, despite what you read on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved labels.

Brandt maintains that consumers' inability to identify high-risk foods may cause individuals to exceed the daily recommended value of 1.11 grams of trans fat from processed foods and lead to adverse long-term health side effects.

Health risks

Trans fat consumption has been linked to increased risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, and sudden cardiac death. Because the daily recommended amount of trans fat from processed foods is only 1.11 grams, one would only need to consume a few "deceptively" labeled trans fat foods to exceed the healthy recommended intake.

As few as three of these items would exceed the healthy recommended intake; for example, consuming three serving sizes each with .49 grams of trans fat, totaling 1.47 grams.

Despite what seems to be a small amount of trans fat to ingest, Brandt says research shows that increasing daily trans fat consumption from .9 percent to 2.1 percent, or from two grams to 4.67 grams, will increase one's risk of cardiovascular disease by 30 percent.

In an effort to adhere to its mission and responsibility in "helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to maintain and improve their health," Brandt recommends the FDA revise its labeling protocol in order to prevent misleading the public about the amount of trans fat they are consuming.

He recommends the FDA require food labels to report trans fat content in smaller increments, enabling consumers to recognize significant levels of trans fat in food products and allow one to properly manage their consumption. The suggested change will increase awareness of accurate food trans fat content, empower informed food choices, and improve public health outcomes.

Just the other day, we released a list of the most and least popular names for celebrities' kids. Now, it seems, pets want equal time.

Maybe it has something to do with the "Twilight" series, but in 2010 "Bella" retained its position as the most popular dog name for the second year in a row, and surpassed "Chloe" to assume the second most popular name for cats.

Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) combed through its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to determine last year's most popular pet names.

In addition to the Top 10 Dog and Cat Names, VPI for the first time has included the Top 10 Exotic Pet Names in its annual pet names analysis. Although "Charlie" may have ranked lower for dogs (No. 9) and cats (No. 10) last year, the name takes the top spot for birds, lizards, gerbils, rabbits and other assorted exotic pets.

Member of the family?

Of the nearly half a million pets insured by VPI, only 13 were named "Fido," reflecting the current trend of owners giving their pets human names. Nearly every dog name on VPI's Top Ten Pet Names list doubles as a popular human name, and several of the more traditional feline names -- "Tiger" and "Tigger" -- decreased in popularity between 2009 and 2010.

"We know that nearly half of pet owners today view their pets as a part of their family," said Curtis Steinhoff, director of Corporate Communications at VPI. "Given that pets are considered family members, it makes sense that pet owners are selecting human-oriented names like 'Max' or 'Charlie.'"

Not all the pet names in VPI's database are as common as Bella and Max. Thousands of people have given their pets names not shared by any other pet on record, such as "Pickle Von Corndog" and "Admiral Pancake."

Some of the more creative monikers selected for VPI's Top 10 Most Unusual Pet Names of 2010 can be found here.

Just days after consumers were urged to avoid Rock Hard Extreme and Passion Coffee Dietary Supplements, Drive Total Energy has announced it is recalling those products.

Word of the voluntary came after the company was informed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that lab analyses found that the products to contain Sulfoaildenafil, an analogue of Sildenafil, an FDA-approved drug used in the treatment of male Erectile Dysfunction (ED), making these products unapproved new drugs.

The active drug ingredient is not listed on the product label.

Possible dangers

The undeclared ingredient may pose a threat to the consumer because the interaction of the analogue with some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take other prescription drugs.

Erectile Dysfunction is a common problem in men with these conditions, and consumers may seek these types of products to enhance sexual performance.

To date, Drive Total Energy is not aware of any reports made to the FDA concerning any adverse effects associated with the use of Rock Hard Extreme or Passion Coffee. In addition, Drive Total Energy currently has not received any complaints from our customers. "Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health and welfare of our customers, Drive Total Energy is voluntarily notifying our customers of the FDA’s findings," the company said in a press release.

Consumer instructions

Rock Hard Extreme and Passion Coffee, distributed by Drive Total Energy, are sold on Internet sites, online marketplaces, and in retail outlets in single blister packs, single packets, and 10-count capsule bottles Rock Hard Extreme single pack Lot # 1152010, expiration date Jan. 15, 2013; Rock Hard Extreme Bottle Lot # 1152010, expiration date Jan. 15, 2013; Passion Coffee UPC 7 97882 00001 2.

The company advises consumers who have purchased these products to discontinue their use and return the products to their place of purchase for a full refund. Customers with questions can call Drive Total Energy at 1-619-825-9422 Pacific Coast Time Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm PST for instructions on the return and refund process. Drive Total Energy says it did not in any way "knowingly or intentionally violate the law with regard to the distribution of these products."

Any adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of these products may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail using use postage-paid, pre-addressed Form FDA 3500 and mail to the address on the pre-addressed form or by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released final rules for the labeling of meat and poultry but -- unfortunately -- according the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the rules provide no new consumer benefit.

Under the rules, packages of ground beef -- a major source of saturated fat -- and ground poultry must bear Nutrition Facts labels by January 2012. However, CSPI sys most ground beef already has such labeling.

Matter of semantics

The group had urged USDA to prohibit "percent lean" statements on labels of ground meat. CSPI says its research shows the term "lean" misleads consumers into thinking that, say, "80 percent lean" ground beef is lower in fat than it really is. The term "low fat," as defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), could not be used on products that contain more than three grams of fat per serving, a level that no ground beef meets.

When consumer and health organizations opposed "percent lean" claims in the 1990s, USDA shelved its proposed rule. Now the agency is allowing the claims because, it says, consumers are used to seeing them.

"Use of the word 'lean' in the context of ground beef is designed to deceive," says CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "The meat industry has insisted on labeling ground meat that way to make ground beef appear leaner. Consumers assume that they are following advice to eat lean meat when they purchase ground beef that is 80 percent lean, yet it is one of the fattiest meats on the market. Nutrition Facts labels don't correct that deception."

Not enough

For steaks, chops, roasts, and other cuts of meat, USDA is requiring nutrition information either on labels or on signs in supermarkets. To date, supermarkets have always chosen to post signs rather than use labels.

CSPI says the signs are hard to find, difficult to decipher, and show nutrition information for relatively puny 4-ounce servings, thereby understating the calorie and fat content of typical servings of steaks. Many consumers actually eat steaks that weigh two, three, or four times the official USDA serving size.

'Missed opportunity'

"It's too bad that USDA missed an opportunity to give consumers easy-to-use, on-package information about how many calories and how much saturated fat is in steaks, roasts, and other cuts of meat," Jacobson said.

CSPI had urged the agency to require that single-serving packages of meat -- one steak, say -- bear nutrition information for the whole cut as sold. Alternatively, said CSPI, labels could have stated, "Nutrition Facts are based on a 4-oz. serving. This package contains multiple servings."

"USDA should err on the side of protecting consumers' health," Jacobson said. "But I fear that when the food industry wants one thing and consumers another, consumers get the short end of the stick."

 Shortly before noon on Wednesday, December 29, American Airlines flight 2253, a B-757-200 inbound from Chicago O'Hare International Airport, ran off the end of runway 19 in snowy conditions while landing at Jackson Hole, Wyo., Airport.

No injuries were reported among the 181 passengers and crew on board. But in the safety investigation that followed, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the airline overstepped its authority and did not follow established protocol.

The aircraft came to rest in hard packed snow about 350 feet beyond the runway overrun area. An initial inspection did not reveal any structural damage to the aircraft. Shortly after the aircraft came to a stop, in accordance with American Airlines' procedures, the pilots pulled the circuit breaker to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) to preserve all of the recorded information for investigators.

The CVR and digital flight data recorder (DFDR) arrived at the Safety Board's recorder laboratory on Thursday evening, Dec. 30, where investigators were standing by to download the contents of both recorders. The CVR provided a two-hour recording of excellent quality audio; the voices of each of the pilots on the flight deck were clearly audible. The DFDR provided 1200 recorded parameters of flight data and captured the entire incident.

The crew members, who were interviewed on Thursday evening, indicated that they saw the runway prior to reaching the minimum descent altitude before touchdown. Both crewmembers characterized the flight and approach to landing as uneventful prior to the runway overrun. The first officer was the flying pilot.

Long-established protocols

The NTSB has long-established protocols for the handling and transportation of CVRs and DFDRs that contain recorded information from a commercial aviation incident, which by definition is one where no serious injuries or substantial damage to the aircraft or other property has occurred.

In such incident investigations, the Board frequently asks the airline involved to transport the recorders on their own aircraft as such an arrangement often provides the most expeditious means of conveying the devices to NTSB labs in Washington.

The airline is instructed to transport the recorders without delay and without accessing the information contained within them by any means. This practice has worked efficiently and without complication for more than 40 years, the agency said.

During this incident investigation, the Board said it learned that the recorders were flown to Tulsa, Okla., where American Airlines technicians downloaded information from the DFDR; the CVR was not accessed by American.

Data not altered

"Although a thorough examination by our investigators determined that no information from the DFDR was missing or altered in any way, the breach of protocol by American Airlines personnel violates the Safety Board's standards of conduct for any organization granted party status in an NTSB investigation," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "Because maintaining and enforcing strict investigative protocols and procedures is vital to the integrity of our investigative processes, we have revoked the party status of American Airlines and excused them from further participation in this incident investigation."

The NTSB says American Airlines has assured it that a full review of proper procedures and internal controls would be undertaken to ensure that such an occurrence is not repeated.

Despite their removal from party standing, the NTSB said it will provide American Airlines with any and all information needed to ensure a timely response to operational safety deficiencies identified in the course of the investigation.

 The friction between American Airlines and online travel sites appears to be producing more heat. After American pulled its fares from travel site Orbitz, rival Expedia has retaliated by dropping American from its site.

It started last month when American Airlines announced a judge had allowed it to withdraw from its agreement with Orbitz. American wanted out because Orbitz insisted on obtaining American's flight data from a third party source, which had to be paid.

American said Orbitz should obtain the data directly from the airline, thereby saving money for American. When Orbitz refused to budge, American withdrew participation with Orbitz.

Expedia, which competes directly with Orbitz, nonetheless began "hiding" American's flight information on its site in sympathy with Orbitz. Now, Expedia has taken the additional step of dropping American from its sight altogether, according to the airline.

American put out a statement over the weekend saying the loss of the two travel sites had not hurt its business. The carrier said it has seen a year-over-year increase in its overall ticket sales since Dec. 21, when it removed its schedules and airfares for American Airlines and American Eagle flights from Orbitz.com and websites powered by Orbitz.com, and since Dec. 23, when Expedia.com began discriminating against American's flights and schedules by listing them lower in the search display than those of other airlines.

No impact

While the year-over-year increase in ticket sales is roughly comparable to that seen earlier in December, American said it has noted a shift in ticket sales to other channels, notably online travel agencies, such as Priceline.com, and referrals from metasearch engines, such as Kayak.com, as well as increased volume on its own website, AA.com.

"Our results to date show that consumer choice is alive and well and that our customers continue to have thousands of options to purchase American's competitive fares and convenient schedules," said Derek DeCross, American's Vice President and General Sales Manager. "It is also clear to us that other online travel sites and traditional travel agencies are capitalizing on this market opportunity to gain business. Beyond that, we want to thank our customers and travel partners for their continued loyalty and support. We appreciate your business."

DeCross reiterated that American is committed to working with all distribution channels, including traditional travel agencies, online travel agencies and global distribution systems, to benefit from adopting its direct connection model, powered by Farelogix, which delivers to travel agencies and their customers more customized travel choices and options. There is no cost to tap into American's direct connection.

While American competitor Southwest Airlines has a policy of only selling tickets through its own branded website, DeCross said American does not plan to follow suit. While its clear the airline prefers customers to book through its website, DeCross said the company does not expect to ever sell only through AA.com.

"Our goal is to have broad distribution channels and choices for our customers, with our products and services delivered efficiently and without unnecessary costs flowing through the process," he said.

Addiction researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity. And women were more at risk than men.

The researchers also noted the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years.

Both men and women with such a family history were more likely to be obese in 2002 than members of that same high-risk group had been in 1992.

“In addiction research, we often look at what we call cross-heritability, which addresses the question of whether the predisposition to one condition also might contribute to other conditions,” says first author Richard A. Grucza, PhD.

Grucza thinks it’s possible obesity and alcoholism are cross-heritable, saying this new study shows the link, but environment also plays a considerable role, too.

 “The environment is what changed between the 1990s and the 2000s. It wasn’t people’s genes,” said Grucza.

Obesity in the United States has doubled in recent decades from 15 percent of the population in the late 1970s to 33 percent in 2004.

People who are obese (those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more) have an elevated risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.

Reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry, Grucza and his team say individuals with a family history of alcoholism, particularly women, have an elevated obesity risk.

In addition, that risk seems to be growing -- possibly due to the abundance of high-calorie, high-fat food that‘s readily available now. These types of junk foods interact with the same brain areas as addictive drugs or alcohol.

“Much of what we eat nowadays contains more calories than the food we ate in the 1970s and 1980s, but it also contains the sorts of calories -- particularly a combination of sugar, salt and fat -- that appeal to what are commonly called the reward centers in the brain,” says Grucza, an assistant professor of psychiatry.

“Alcohol and drugs affect those same parts of the brain, and our thinking was that because the same brain structures are being stimulated, overconsumption of those foods might be greater in people with a predisposition to addiction.”

Grucza hypothesized that as Americans consumed more high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods, those with a genetic risk for addiction would face an elevated risk from because of the effects of those foods on the reward centers in the brain.

His team analyzed data from two large alcoholism surveys from the last two decades: the  National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey, conducted in 1991 and 1992 and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, conducted in 2001 and 2002. Almost 80,000 people took part in the two surveys.

“We looked particularly at family history of alcoholism as a marker of risk,” said Grucza. “And we found that in 2001 and 2002, women with that history were 49 percent more likely to be obese than those without a family history of alcoholism. We also noticed a relationship in men, but it was not as striking in men as in women.”

Grucza says a possible explanation for obesity in those with a family history of alcoholism is that some individuals may substitute one addiction for another.

After seeing a close relative deal with alcohol problems, a person may shy away from drinking, but high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods also can stimulate the reward centers in their brains and give them effects similar to what they might experience from alcohol.

“Ironically, people with alcoholism tend not to be obese,” Grucza says. “They tend to be malnourished, or at least under-nourished because many replace their food intake with alcohol. One might think that the excess calories associated with alcohol consumption could, in theory, contribute to obesity, but that’s not what we saw in these individuals.”

Grucza says other variables, from smoking, to alcohol intake, to demographic factors like age and education levels don’t seem to explain the association between alcoholism risk and obesity.

“It really does appear to be a change in the environment,” he says. “I would speculate, although I can’t really prove this, that a change in the food environment brought this association about. There is a whole slew of literature out there suggesting these hyper-palatable foods appeal to people with addictive tendencies, and I would guess that’s what we’re seeing in our study.”

The results, he says, suggest there should be more cross-talk between alcohol and addiction researchers and those who study obesity as there may be some people for whom treating one of those disorders also might aid the other.

On the face of it, this looks like a huge windfall for Baby Boomers.

MetLife commissioned a study from Boston College's Center for Retirement Research that says that some 78 million American baby boomers adults aged approximately 46 to 64 will share in an estimated inter-generational transfer of wealth totaling $11.6 trillion. That reportedly includes some $2.4 trillion that has already been gifted.

But when you break down, that study says that basically comes out to around $64,000 as the median amount, and that two out of three boomers should get something. Who gets what however will not be divided equally.

The study predicts the wealthiest boomer households will get by far the biggest inheritances, with $1.5 million as the average. The average for the poorest will be $27,000.

According to the study, median amounts for top will be $335,000 and around $8,000 for those boomers at the bottom of the net worth scale.

Also, this inheritance is no sure thing. The study was prepared before the economic crisis and John Migliaccio, MetLife's director of research, says the recession cost would-be inheritors about $800 billion.

Then there's the parents, who may have been part of the frugal generation who saved all that money, but are living a lot longer than even they expected.

Jerry Gerber, of Millionaire Insights, a subscription service that studies persons of high net worth, says a lot can happen in an older person's final years and the end of life can get expensive. This could erode their entire savings.

So whether there will still be money left after a protracted illness or years spent living in a nursing home is hard to say. In other words, boomers, don't spend that money yet.