Current Events in May 2012

Bank of America has begun contacting some of its mortgage customers who may be eligible for a mortgage balance reduction. The bank is committed to forgiving some principal for underwater borrowers, as part of a settlement with 49 states and the U.S. government.

In the first wave of letters, Bank of America said it is targeting more than 200,000 mortgage-holders who could potentially save as much as 30 percent of their monthly payments under the program.

"Building on home retention and payment assistance programs already in place, we are meeting our obligation to deliver this additional relief to our customers following the completion of the recent global mortgage settlement," said Ron Sturzenegger, Legacy Asset Servicing executive. "To the extent principal reduction and other modification tools help us turn mortgages headed for possible foreclosure into long-term performing loans, it will be positive for homeowners, mortgage investors and communities."

Complaints

Unfortunately Bank of America, as most other mortgage lenders, has drawn complaints from struggling homeowners who have been trying to modify their mortgages.

"We have a BOA loan and we cannot get them to do anything to help," Cat, of Mulberry, Tenn., wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. We get the runaround, we send documents and never get replies other than being told to send documents again. We were told we were getting a modification over a year ago and now we are not getting it."

"For the past 18 months I have been trying to get a loan modification from Bank of America," wrote Carolyn, of San Diego, Calif. "My house is now in foreclosure."

Bank of America's new principal forgiveness program will target many customers already in the modification process, so it remains to be seen if this resolves the issues that have plagued the process so far. Bank of America has expressed confidence the program will help, noting that it actually began it back in March

Early start

"So far under this early initiative, about 5,000 trial modification offers have been mailed, providing a potential total of more than $700 million in forgiven principal," the company said in a statement. "Homeowners are required to make at least three timely payments before the modification can become permanent."

Bank of America says the wave of mailings beginning this week will reach a broader base of customers who may be eligible for this principal reduction program. The letters provide each homeowner with a description of the program and an invitation to provide financial information to begin the review process.

To be eligible for this program, a homeowner must meet certain criteria, including:

• Owes more on the mortgage than the property is worth today.
• Was at least 60 days behind on payments on January 31, 2012.
• Has a contractual monthly payment for principal, interest, property taxes, hazard insurance and any applicable homeowner association fees totaling more than 25 percent of gross household income.
• Has a loan that is owned and serviced by Bank of America, or serviced for another investor that has given the bank delegated authority to do such modifications.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA/VA are not participating in the principal reduction program, but Bank of America says other modification programs which may provide comparable reductions in monthly payments are available on those loans.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking a civil contempt ruling against the nation's largest third-party billing company, alleging that it placed more than $70 million in bogus "cramming" charges on consumers' phone bills in violation of a previous court order. The FTC is asking a federal court to make the company pay more than $52.6 million, the total amount that the company billed consumers and failed to refund.

The FTC alleged that Billing Services Group (BSG) placed charges on nearly 1.2 million telephone lines on behalf of a serial phone crammer. The charges were supposedly for "enhanced services," such as voicemail and streaming video, that consumers never authorized or even knew about. "BSG made it possible for con artists to steal people's hard-earned money by placing charges on phone bills for services they never ordered or used," said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Under previous federal court orders, BSG cannot profit from the fraud of others and then deny responsibility for the harm they made possible."

Billing aggregators act as intermediaries between third-party vendors and the local phone companies by contracting to have the local telephone companies collect charges for the vendors' services from consumers. "Cramming" is the placement of unauthorized charges on phone bills.

In its contempt motion, the FTC said BSG failed to investigate either the highly deceptive marketing for the services or whether consumers even used them. BSG kept billing for these services despite voluminous complaints from consumers and even after major telephone companies refused to do so, the FTC's motion stated.

Violated terms

The FTC alleged that by putting the bogus charges on consumers' phone bills, BSG -- also known as ZPDI -- violated the terms of a 1999 settlement with the agency, which prohibits unauthorized billing, misrepresentations to consumers, and billing for vendors who fail to clearly disclose the terms of their services.

BSG is generally regarded as the nation's largest phone bill aggregator, working with many of the nation's largest phone companies to place bills from sex hotlines and just about everything else onto consumers' bills.

The contempt action is the FTC's fourth action addressing extensive cramming by BSG entities. In addition to the 1999 order, the FTC previously obtained two other cramming orders against BSG companies: Nationwide Connections Inc., which addressed $34.5 million in charges for collect calls that never occurred, and Enhanced Services Billing Inc., which addressed crammed charges for so-called enhanced services.

In 2007, the agency sued BSG seeking restitution for consumers who found mysterious and outrageously overpriced collect charges on their phone bills, placed by BSG, on behalf of its client and co-defendant in the case, Nationwide Connections, Inc.

Enhanced services

According to the FTC's motion, from 2006 through 2010, BSG illegally billed consumers for nine crammed "enhanced services," including three voicemail services, one streaming video service, two identity theft protection services, two directory assistance services, and one job skills training service. In one example cited in the FTC's motion, a BSG subsidiary charged consumers for voicemail services without their consent, as demonstrated by "voluminous consumer complaints, astronomical refund rates," and the fact that almost none of the consumers who were billed ever used the services. In 2007, as noted in the motion, Verizon notified BSG that it was terminating the ability of one of the voicemail services to bill Verizon customers, stating, "as they have not and will not bring cramming complaint level" down. Yet BSG continued billing consumers for the voicemail services through other local telephone service providers and subsequently billed other services for the voicemail services' principals.

The FTC's contempt motion noted that BSG billed tens of thousands of consumers for voicemail boxes each month from July 2009 through March 2010, but consumers used only 209 mailboxes during that time. The motion also stated that BSG billed over 250,000 consumers for a streaming video service, but only 23 total movies were streamed, some of them by the crammers' employees. Despite overwhelming evidence of cramming, BSG billed consumers more than $30 million for the voicemail services and more than $12 million for the video service.

Consuming burgers and cold beer is about as American as eating a slice of apple pie at a baseball game, while whistling Yankee Doodle Dandy. However, recent sales reports by McDonald's Corp., Wendy's Co., and Molson Coors Brewing Co. showed extremely low earnings across the board.

According to Mcdonald's, its sales at global stores open for over a year, were at 3.3 percent in April of 2012, which has shrunken from sales in April 2011. The fast-food giants have seen nearly a 3 percent increase in the United States and Europe, but saw only a 1.1 percent lift in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia pacific regions, and things weren't any better for the square burger makers at Wendy's.

Although Wendy's has introduced new some menu items, and started aggressive advertising to showcase several new side dishes, like macaroni and cheese and sweet baked potato, first-quarter profit numbers were much lower than expected. Wendy's new chief executive Emil Brolick said that the burger company is in the middle of "a transition year," which gives some insight as to why sales figures were so low.

Numbers were $12.4 million (3 cents a share) from a total loss of $1.4 million just one year prior. But, things picked up again for Wendy's as earnings rose  from $582.5 million to $593.2 million.

"it was not enough to offset restaurant-level margin pressure," Brolick said in a press statement. "We are allocating substantial resources toward restaurant development, marketing, product innovation and customer service initiatives."

Drying out

Consumers also chose to wash their meals down with something other than beer, as the Molson Coors Brewing Co., the makers of Coors Light and Blue Moon beers, only saw a 0.1 percent increase to $691.4 million. Luckily for the brew makers, its other beers like Creemore, and Leinenkugel, which contain a higher-end brand persona, sold more this quarter than this time last year.

There's definitely someting afoot, as a ConsumerAffairs sentiment analysis of 300,000 postings to Facebook, Twitter and other social media finds a definite fall-off in consumer sentiment over the past year. The Coors brand has slumped from a 73% positive rating last November down to a rather flat 47% this month. 

There's an interesting paradox in the liquor business at the moment: consumer tastes are moving towards lighter hard liquor, like vodka, and away from bourbon, Scotch and rum. But over on the beer side, drinkers are increasingly turning away from Bud Light, Coors and other lighter blends to bigger, more robust beers. 

Some of that sentiment can perhaps be read into the most frequent comments unearthed in our sentiment analysis:

However, it certainly doesn't appear that Molson is strapped for cash after it purchased European beer company StarBev for $3.5 billion.

With overall consumer spending way down in the U.S., one would think areas of cheaper foods and beverages like burgers and beer wouldn't suffer, but this continued trend of low sales proves that no area of life or entertainment is safe from conservative consumer spending.

Before we get into a deep sneaker discussion, lets do a quick tutorial. Not that's it needed for everyone, but it would be presumptuous to assume that everyone knows how popular, crazy, and on-going the high-end sneaker industry is.

There are some who have absolutely no problem shelling out $700 for a pair of exclusive kicks, which has been the unchanged slang term for sneakers since the 1980s. Some even choose to wait in line, overnight, in the meanest of seasons, to be the first owner of a newly-released sneaker.

Usually the initiator of all the sneaker-fuss is Nike, which makes complete sense since it's had a strong hold on innovative shoe wear since the 70s. Some would argue that Nike has mastered the ability to make a sneaker that can be used for you to drive to the hoop, or complete the perfect stylized outfit.

Nike has also driven consumer sentiment to the hoop, maintaining an enviable net positive sentiment of about 70% for much of the past 12 months, according to a ConsumerAffairs sentiment analysis of about 3.5 million comments posted on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

What is it that consumers like -- and don't like -- about Nike? Well, to put it simply, they like the shoes. 

Not everyone is happy, of course. Sohiya of the Kowloon area of Hong Kong recently wrote to ConsumerAffairs.

"I bought my Nike shoes about six months ago, kept it and have not worn it until recently. When I wore it for the second time, I was walking along Nathan Road and felt like something was stuck on my right shoe," Sohiya said. "I stopped to the side to look at what was stuck and shockingly saw the lower heel come out and the sound was the clicking of the dangling heel onto the rest of my shoe."

New models

The reliable sneaker brand will be releasing two new shoes that will have kids and adults alike sprinting over to retailers. The Nike Lebron 9, and the Toki Pastel Sneaker. Please sound in the trumpets.

Before sneaker enthusiasts get too excited, the Nike Lebron 9 isn't going to be released until June of this year, which can seem like a slow forever for some. The ankle area of the sneaker is uniquely designed and appears to slope down towards the back of the shoe, as opposed to more traditional high-tops that completely surround the ankle.

A photo of the sneaker released by Nike has soft grey coloring, accented with very subtle dollops of pink. The padded bottom areas and sole of the shoe is complete with a warm aqua coloring that provides the sneaker with the correct amount of flash and restraint. In addition, there's a 180-Max Air unit for cooler feet and the the outsole of the shoe glows slightly in the dark.

Prices for the sneaker are listed at $250, but may go up upon strong customer demand, as it will be one of the most desired sneakers released this summer. Also, with future hall of famer Lebron James increasing his presence by way of a current championship run, it can only increase consumer yearnings for the stylish footwear.

Toki Pastel

But while customers are shopping for Lebron's sneaker, they may notice the almost edible looking Toki Pastel Sneaker. Unlike it's newly released Nike cousin the Lebron 9, The Toki has already been released, but Nike has chosen to only release 500, making the three-quarter-high-tops quickly fly off shelves. More are rumored to be on its way this summer, which will make the next couple of months for Nike fans feel like an anticipatory blur.

The highly coveted shoe has the traditional Nike swoosh on either side that blends seemingly into the sky blue color motif. The high quality suede and the powder white outsole makes the shoe appear light and comfortable and easy to where with multiple outfits, since a true sneaker-head  where's his kicks sparingly. If you're able to find these shoes expect to pay near the $300 range at the very least.

With these two long-awaited sneakers being released on the heels of each other (pun intended), their destined to drive all ready crazy sneaker buyers even crazier. But what's even crazier is that many sneakers enthusiast actually choose not to wear their expensive shoes.

Most have stopped just matching sneakers with their outfits and have become ardent collectors.

It's easy to end up with a car or truck with little market value. Consumers who have traded in older vehicles on a new car understand completely. Often you get little or nothing for it from the dealer.

The same can be true when selling the vehicle through an ad in the paper or on craigslist. If the car has body damage or engine issues you might find few, if any takers.

But with rising prices for scrap metal, someone with a car that otherwise seems worthless might actually get a few bucks out of it from a scrap dealer. Just don't expect to get a lot.

Kind of a hassle

Yes, there's plenty of metal in a vehicle but parts have to be separated for environmental reasons, and not all metal in the vehicles may be usable. Some scrap dealers don't take vehicles, considering them more trouble than they're worth.

A better bet might be to sell it to a business that will "part it out," salvaging the engine, or parts of the engine, for example. Some junk dealers also buy vehicles for this purpose, stripping them of marketable parts before crushing the bodies into hunks of metal.

Look online

How do you find these places? Most will have an Internet presence and might even post prices. You should probably talk to a few businesses to get the best deal, because prices are likely to vary widely.

In addition to local parts/scrap dealers, there are some companies that say they will buy unwanted vehicles regardless of their current condition. For example, Auto Selling Solutions says it will buy any vehicle damaged by a collision for the value of the undamaged parts.

Some people just want to get rid of the vehicle and don't care how much they receive for it. For those consumers especially, selling it for parts and scrap might be the easiest option.

It's always a bit baffling when someone says they dislike summer. Not liking the heat or being hot is logical. But to dismiss an entire season, especially for one with chilly temperatures, brisk winds and annoying snow is sheer lunacy to those who love the summer time.

But, whether you love or hate summer, no one can argue that summer time is perfect for family activities, and getting everyone in the car and heading to the nearest amusement park is still high on the activity list.

Pretty much wherever you are in the U.S., you'll be able to find quite the array of brand new coaster and newly opened water parks.  SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas just opened a water park within its already popular theme park, and Legoland Florida also opened a wet park equipped with the newest and scariest of water rides and wave pools.

Winged coaster

But most go to amusement parks for the monster coasters, and this year there isn't a shortage of them. In Gatlinburg, Tenn, Dollywood introduces the the Wild Eagle. A "winged coaster" that has riders dangling in rows on either side of the track.

Another coaster of the same kind, X-Flight, at Six Flags Great America in the Chicago suburbs, has the same type of I-dare-you-to-get-on-look. And Hershey Park in Hershey Park, Pa, unveils Skyrush. Another coaster of the winged variety that promises to produce tears, whether from joy or terror.

Roller Coasters aren't the only way to lose your breakfast in a thrill park. Six Flags Magic Mountain, outside of Los Angeles, assembled what it call the world's tallest vertical free-fall ride, LexLuthor Drop of Doom.

And what would an amusement park discussion be without mentioning the granddaddy of theme parks -- Disney? Practically the inventors of family entertainment, the folks at Disney have designed two separate areas known as Cars Land, and Radiator Springs, based on the two Pixar movies. The Walt Disney company is banking on the newly developed attractions to do for Disneyland, what Epcot did for Disney World in Florida years ago.

Most noticeable of these two new Disneyland additions is Radiator Springs Racers. Part bumper car ride, part roller coaster, it promises to be a welcomed addition to a theme park that has seen lower guests numbers in recent summers.

Whether on the west or east coast or in-between, families will have their pick of many new and very interesting rides this summer. But hurry up because the summer months are extremely fleeting, and before you know it, it will be deeply missed. Even by those who prefer that other ghastly season -- Winter.

When you shop for a new car, dealers and manufacturers usually try to draw you into their showrooms with incentives, like cash rebates and low-cost financing.

But if you're shopping for a new car this spring, you'll probably find fewer of these enticements. The reason? With car sales at a very healthy rate, dealers and manufacturers feel that don't have to compete as hard.

In fact, Edmunds.com reports incentive spending on new car sales in April hit its lowest level in almost seven years. It found that the average True Cost of Incentives (TCISM) per vehicle in April was $2,071, the lowest average spent since automakers spent an average of $1,962 in October 2005.

April's average TCISM is down 2.2 percent from March, and down 1.8 percent from April of last year.

Little pressure to deal

"This is the clearest indication yet that consumer motivation is high and that automakers feel little pressure to rely on incentives in order to keep sales churning," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "We'll likely see incentives linger at these low levels until auto sales ease off the torrid pace we've seen so far in 2012."

Lower incentives mean car-buyers must put up more of their own cash as a down payment and be able to afford slightly higher payments, accepting prevailing market interest rates instead of "incentive" rates.

Edmunds reports the most notable shift in spending among the Big Six automakers came from Nissan, whose spending fell 13.0 percent month over month and even as it rose 16.3 percent year over year. Ford was the only other major manufacturer to drop its incentive spending in April. Its average TCISM per vehicle fell 12.6 percent month to month, but ticked up 0.8 percent year over year.

Harder to find incentives on fuel-efficient cars

When consumers are finding good incentive packages, they tend to be for vehicles with lower fuel efficiency ratings. In other words, the incentives tend to be on vehicles the dealers have the most trouble selling.

The large car segment, for example, offered the highest discounts, on average, at 13.2 percent off MSRP, which was up from 12.2 percent off MSRP in March. Dealers, however, kept a tighter incentives grip on smaller fuel-efficient vehicles.

According to Edmunds, the discount on subcompact vehicles was 2.2 percent off MSRP in April, down from an average of 2.5 percent in March. And the discount off compact cars in April fell to 4.5 percent off MSRP in April, down from 5.2 percent in March.

Researchers examining the snacking habits of fourth and fifth-graders aren't at all surprised there's a childhood obesity problem. They report that snacking represents a large part of children’s daily calorie intake.

Overall, the children in the study group reported consuming an average of approximately 300 calories from high-calorie, low-nutrition foods such as chips, candy and cookies – nearly 17 percent of their daily caloric needs. They reported eating only 45 calories from fruits and vegetables combined.

Bad snack choices

The study by the University of Cincinnati suggests that part of the increases in childhood snacking could be because many children skip breakfast. Another reason is that children are now more likely to have greater control over choosing their snacks, and they make bad choices.

Higher calorie snacks such as chips and cookies are less filling – making it easier to over consume them – compared with higher-fiber fruits and vegetables. The study suggested that in the battle against childhood obesity, snack foods should be of particular concern because they’re relatively cheap and easy for children to purchase.

Gender and ethnicity differences

The study found some significant differences in snack choices among gender and ethnicity. For example, girls reported eating more high-calorie snacks than boys.

Paul Branscum, assistant professor of health and exercise science at the University of Oklahoma, took part in the study and says children simply aren't feeling the required social pressure to choose healthy snacks over unhealthy snacks that might taste better.

“Children may not comprehend long-term benefits or consequences of obesity, such as developing chronic conditions in adulthood, but it’s likely that they would understand immediate benefits of a healthier lifestyle, such as being better able to play team or individual sports,” Branscum said.

The authors add that targeting obesity in children is especially important to head off future health threats such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as future skyrocketing costs in healthcare as a result of the growing rate of obesity.

Forty-two percent of the U.S. population could be obese by 2030, putting a huge strain on health care costs, according to a new public health study.

That's an additional 32 million obese people within two decades. While reducing obesity is the goal, the researchers from Duke University, RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control say just keeping obesity at its present high rate would have a big payoff.

"Keeping obesity rates level could yield a savings of nearly $550 billion in medical expenditures over the next two decades," said lead author Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D., associate research professor in the Duke Global Health Institute.

The study, based on data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and state-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other organizations, was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Severe obesity also rising

It also forecasts an increase in the number of individuals with severe obesity, with rates rising to 11 percent by 2030. Severe obesity is defined as a body mass index over 40 or roughly 100 pounds overweight.

Severely obese individuals are at highest risk for the health conditions caused by excess weight, resulting in substantially greater medical expenditures and rates of absenteeism.

"Should these forecasts prove accurate, the adverse health and cost consequences of obesity are likely to continue to escalate without a significant intervention," said senior author Justin Trogdon, Ph.D., of RTI.

Solution requires commitment

The solution isn't complicated, says William H. Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, but it requires a focused effort.

"People need to make healthy choices, but the healthy choices must first be available and accessible in order to make them," Dietz said.

About 36 percent of the population was classified as obese in 2010. People who are obese tend to have more health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Social networking service Myspace has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it misrepresented its protection of users' personal information. The settlement bars Myspace from future privacy misrepresentations, requires it to implement a comprehensive privacy program, and calls for regular, independent privacy assessments for the next 20 years.

The Myspace social network has millions of users who create and customize online profiles containing substantial personalized content. Myspace assigns a persistent unique identifier, called a "Friend ID," to each profile created on Myspace.

A user's profile publicly discloses his or her age, gender, profile picture (if the user chooses to include one), display name, and, by default, the user's full name. User profiles also may contain additional information such as pictures, hobbies, interests, and lists of users' friends.

Myspace's privacy policy promised it would not share users personally identifiable information, or use such information in a way that was inconsistent with the purpose for which it was submitted, without first giving notice to users and receiving their permission to do so. The privacy policy also promised that the information used to customize ads would not individually identify users to third parties and would not share non-anonymized browsing activity.

Despite the promises contained in its privacy policy, the FTC charged, Myspace provided advertisers with the Friend ID of users who were viewing particular pages on the site. Advertisers could use the Friend ID to locate a user's Myspace profile to obtain personal information publicly available on the profile and, in most instances, the user's full name.

Advertisers also could combine the user's real name and other personal information with additional information to link broader web-browsing activity to a specific individual. The agency charged that the deceptive statements in its privacy policy violated federal law.

In addition, Myspace certified that it complied with the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework, which provides a method for U.S. companies to transfer personal data lawfully from the European Union to the United States. As part of its self-certification, Myspace claimed that it complied with the Safe Harbor Principles, including the requirements that consumers be given notice of how their information will be used and the choice to opt out. The FTC alleged that these statements were false.

The proposed settlement order bars Myspace from misrepresenting the extent to which it protects the privacy of users' personal information or the extent to which it belongs to or complies with any privacy, security or other compliance program, including the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework.

The order also requires that Myspace establish a comprehensive privacy program designed to protect consumers' information, and to obtain biennial assessments of its privacy program by independent, third-party auditors for 20 years.

But no, it's Oscar Mayer who allegedly had his big fat thumb on the scale, according to Jim Dick, communications director of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. 

In a news release, the department said Kraft, of Northfield, Illinois, paid a civil forfeiture settlement of $36,908.50 for alleged violations of short weight product packages found in Wisconsin stores. Kraft owns Oscar Mayer.

A weights and measures inspection by the department found 24 instances of false representations of quantity in Kraft products sold at several stores throughout the state, Dick said.  The inspections were conducted between August 2011 and February 2012. 

The short weight products included 11 packages of Oscar Mayer brand light beef franks, 12 packages of Oscar Mayer brand roast beef and one package of Oscar Mayer brand roasted turkey breast.

Due to an earlier civil forfeiture against Kraft for short weight packages in July 2011, the fines involved in this recent settlement were increased.

As part of the civil forfeiture agreement, Kraft Foods did not admit to violating any Wisconsin laws.

BMW is recalling about 7,600 3-series vehicles from the 2012 model year to fix a problem with the head restraint.

The company said that the restraint may exceed the downward movement permitted under federal safety standards.

In the event of a crash, the head restraint could move down slightly, increasing the risk of injury.

BMW will notify owners and dealers will attach a clamp to the front seat head restraint posts. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.

Chrysler Group is recalling 2012 model-year Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan vans. 

The company said some vehicles may have a right-side liftgate pinch sensor that doesn't work properly. AS a result, the power liftgate could close on an appendage.

Chrysler will notify owners and dealers will inspect and replace the pinch sensor. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.

AT&T is expanding into the home security business, offering services to homeowners who not only want to secure their home while they are away, but have control over it as well.

The services, called AT&T Digital Life, will get trials this summer in the Atlanta and Dallas markets.

The remote monitoring and automation portfolio will feature web-based access to automation, energy and water controls, as well as professionally monitored security services. The company says it will give users control and security of their homes using any web-enabled device, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

While you might think AT&T would require subscribers to use AT&T wireless as its mobile network, it doesn't. The company says the service will be available to customers regardless of wireless carrier.

Next level

"The AT&T Digital Life service has the potential to take home monitoring and home security solutions to another level," said Larry Hettick, Research Director, Consumer Services, for Current Analysis. "The service promises to be as robust as anything in the marketplace today backed by the trusted AT&T brand."

The system will be able to control cameras in the home, lock and unlock doors, control the thermostat, sense smoke, carbon monoxide and broken glass, control appliances and detect moisture. The system's devices will be wirelessly enabled to connect to the IP-based AT&T Digital Life platform inside the home.

AT&T did not reveal price information, but did say there would be different levels of service, depending on the features consumers want.

The move into home security makes AT&T a competitor with ADT, Pinnacle, and other nationwide security firms, but with a decisive marketing advantage. While other firms often sell their service door to door, AT&T will market its home security services through its network of stores that also sell its wireless services.

And AT&T isn't alone among communications companies eying the home security business. Cable TV companies have also started introducing home security services for subscribers.  

In an effort to increase transaction speed at the point of sales, Visa said that it plans to raise its Easy Payment service "no signature required" limit to $50 from its old amount of $25. The new limit will mainly be used in grocery and discount stores in the U.S.

Starting in October 2012, Visa Inc. says the higher transaction limit will also increase operational efficiencies and cardholder convenience. Visa will take a close look at feedback from merchants, card issuers and card holders in addition to the $50 limit change.

"Visa is committed to delivering solutions to help our merchant and financial institution partners better serve their customers, reduce costs and grow their businesses," said William M. Sheedy, Group President for Visa Inc. "Visa Easy Payment Service has been extremely popular with merchants and cardholders in busy retail environments. As a result, merchants have asked to expand the program to purchases up to $50, so they can more efficiently support consumers' growing preference to use cards instead of cash or checks for everyday purchases."

Disputes

Visa also plans to review its dispute resolution process to eliminate wrongful chargebacks, while also looking to change its required merchant documentation. This is all to improve its customer complaint division, and create a faster and better ran payment system.

In other good news for merchants, they will also be protected against fraud chargebacks, which could potentially reduce merchant fraud expenditures. 

Visa sys all of these changes to Visa's Easy Payment Service and dispute resolution process will assist merchants to better serve their customers by streamlining the entire credit card process upon the customer's electronic swipe. In theory, this means faster and more convienant service for the consumer when choosing to shop with their Visa card.

Add Canidae, Wellpet, Natural Balance and Apex to the list of pet food manufacturers recalling dry pet food because of Salmonella contamination. Diamond Pet Foods recalled its Puppy Formula and Chicken Soup flavors last week.  

The recalls follow the discovery of Salmonella at Diamond Pet Food's Gaston, South Carolina facility. Diamond earlier recalled several of its dry dog foods and federal officials said at least 14 people have been infected with Salmonella, apparently after coming into contact with the contaminated pet food.

It's the same South Carolina plant that a few years ago produced Nutra Nuggets and other dog foods contaminated with aflatoxin, a mold, which was blamed for the death of dozens of dogs. In 2008, Diamond agreed to a $3.1 million settlement to compensate dog owners.

It often comes as a surprise to consumers to learn that their trusted brand of pet food is manufactured, at least partly, at the same plant as other brands. Manufacturers keep costs down by outsourcing at least part of their production process, adding proprietary flavorings or ingredients to differentiate their products from the competition.

The recalls are a major embarrassment for companies that promote their products as being more "natural" than their competitors.

Peace of mind

"As a pet parent myself, I know how important peace of mind is when it comes to the health of our pets, and that is why we require that all of our products undergo testing forSalmonella, among other things," said Tim Callahan, chief executive officer of WellPet, the maker of Wellness products. "All of these lots tested negative prior to being released for sale. We are voluntarily taking this additional step to further safeguard our dogs and to put our customers’ minds at ease."

Callahan said the majority of Wellness natural products for pets are produced in WellPet's own facility in Mishawaka, Indiana, and he said WellPet "no longer purchases any products from Diamond Pet Foods."

On April 2, 2012, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development detected Salmonella in an unopened bag of Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice dry dog food, which had been collected March 14, 2012, during routine retail testing of dry pet food, the CDC said. A sample of Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food collected by FDA during an inspection at the South Carolina production facility has also yielded Salmonella.

Public health investigators identified recent cases of human illness matching the Salmonella Infantis strain found in the unopened bag of dry dog food produced by Diamond Pet Foods. In interviews, ill persons answered questions about contact with animals and foods consumed during the week before becoming ill. Seven of ten reported contact with a dog in the week before becoming ill.

More illnesses are likely to be discovered in the coming weeks as records are collected and analyzed from health departments around the country.

Danger to humans

If you're a pet owner, health officials say it's important to be careful handling pet food and pet dishes.  You should wash your hands thoroughly after handling pet food.  Pet food and feeding dishes should be kept out of the reach of children.  Dishes should be washed often and thoroughly.

Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Individuals handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. People who believe they may have been exposed to Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, people who are more likely to be affected by Salmonella include infants, children younger than 5 years old, organ transplant patients, people with HIV/AIDS and people receiving treatment for cancer.

Canidae Pet Foods announced today that it is issuing a voluntary recall of certain dry pet food formulas manufactured between December 9, 2011, and January 31, 2012 at the Diamond Pet Food Gaston, South Carolina plant.

Although there have been no animal or human illnesses related to Canidae Pet Food, and the product has not tested positive for Salmonella, the company has voluntarily initiated this recall out of caution to ensure the health and safety of consumers and their pets.

The below list of product with production codes that must have both a number “3” in the 9th position AND an “X” in the 10th or 11th position with best before dates of December 9, 2012, through January 31, 2013 which are being recalled.

• Canidae Dog, All Life Stages
• Canidae Dog, Chicken Meal & Rice
• Canidae Dog, Lamb Meal & Rice
• Canidae Dog, Platinum

Following is an example of how to read the production code and best before date:

The recall affects only products distributed in the following Eastern U.S. states which were manufactured at the Diamond Pet Food Gaston, South Carolina plant. Further distribution to other pet food channels may occur:

Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee

Canidae Pet Foods apologizes for any potential issues this may have caused pet owners and their pets.

Pet owners who are unsure if the product they purchased is included in the recall, or who would like a replacement product or a refund, may contact Canidae Pet Foods via a toll free call at 1-800-398-1600, Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5 pm PST. Consumers may also go to canidae.com for more information. The company is working with distributors and retailers to ensure all products affected by this voluntary recall are removed from shelves.

WellPet LLC announced a voluntary recall of one recipe of Wellness® dry dog food after being notified by Diamond Pet Foods regarding the presence of Salmonella in Diamond’s Gaston, South Carolina facility.

The products involved in this voluntary recall are:

Wellness Complete Health® Super5Mix® Large Breed Puppy, 15 lb. and 30 lb. bags and 5 oz. sample bags with best by dates of JAN 9 2013 through JAN 11 2013.

Best by dates (lot codes) can be found on the back of the bag in the bottom right-hand corner.

No other WellPet recipes, sizes or brands of food are impacted by this voluntary recall

All Wellness products are tested for Salmonella and all lots tested negative prior to shipping to customers. The company is voluntarily recalling the select products below. This voluntary recall is being done out of an abundance of caution as these products were produced at the facility that has been linked to recent recalls of Diamond brand foods due to the threat of Salmonella.

Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Individuals handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. People who believe they may have been exposed to Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. According to the Centers for Disease Control, people who are more likely to be affected by Salmonella include infants, children younger than 5 years old, organ transplant patients, people with HIV/AIDS and people receiving treatment for cancer.

"As a pet parent myself, I know how important peace of mind is when it comes to the health of our pets, and that is why we require that all of our products undergo testing forSalmonella, among other things," said Tim Callahan, chief executive officer of WellPet, the maker of Wellness® products. "All of these lots tested negative prior to being released for sale. We are voluntarily taking this additional step to further safeguard our dogs and to put our customers’ minds at ease."

The majority of Wellness natural products for pets are produced in WellPet's own modern state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Mishawaka, Indiana. WellPet no longer purchases any products from Diamond Pet Foods.

Pet owners who are unsure if the product they purchased is included in the recall, would like replacement product or have additional questions, may call us at (877) 227-9587 (Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM through 6:00 PM Eastern time and Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM Eastern time).

Gasoline prices have been drifting lower lately and chances are they will keep going down, welcome news for motorists stung by $4 a gallon prices in some areas.

The reason? Oil prices are going down in reaction to the accumulation of data that suggests the economy is slowing down a bit. On top of that, analysts say the weekend's French election, as well as the latest polls in Greece, may mean even lower oil prices and, presumably, lower prices at the pump as well.

France elected politicians who have rejected “austerity measures,” which investors have demanded in exchange of continuing to buy French bonds. French Socialist Francois Hollande defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy, running on a platform of increasing, not cutting government spending. The latest polls in Greece show anti-austerity candidates gaining ground.

The oil market reacted negatively today since traders see both developments making the European debt situation that much worse, creating a drag on the global economy. A slowdown in the world economy means less of a market for oil, so the price is falling.

$98 oil

The benchmark price of oil fell below $98 a barrel in trading in Europe early today. Meanwhile, the price of U.S. oil remains soft as supplies increase and consumers buy less gasoline. The U.S. government reported last week that domestic oil supplies have hit their highest peak since 1990.

While consumers obviously don't want to cheer for a worsening economy, it does appear to be the only way to achieve lower gasoline prices. The price of oil and economic growth appear to have become regulators on each other, keeping both in balance.

If the economy begins to improve, the price of energy suddenly escalates. At some point, that high-priced energy – mostly gasoline – causes a contraction in the economy. As the economy suffers, the price of gasoline comes down.

The same pattern occurred last year. The economy showed signs of improvement in the first quarter of 2011. That, along with concerns about political unrest in Arab countries, caused oil prices to spike. By the time gasoline prices peaked at an average $3.98 in early May, the economy was slowing. As a result oil prices – along with gasoline prices – fell.