Current Events in May 2012

Stumped over what to give Mom for Mother's Day? These days moms are a lot more tech-savvy than they once were considered to be.

If you think “tech,” it opens up all kinds of gift possibilities. Here are a few:

• If she doesn't already have one, a Kindle e-reader makes a nice gift, with price points from $79 to $199. With a Kindle she can read during her morning commute, or on the Kindle Fire watch her favorite TV show. Also, now through Mother's Day, you can save 30 percent on select covers and sleeves when you buy a Kindle or Kindle Fire at Amazon.
  
• While they cost more than a Kindle, tablets offer a few more options. You can choose between Apple's iPad and a number of Android tablets. They start at around $500 for Wi-Fi models while the 3G models cost more. They also require a monthly data plan.
  
• The Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player is a gift for active moms looking for a feature-rich, affordable and easy-to-use way to enjoy music on the go. The player, which sells for under $50, includes a large color screen, a microphone, a memory card slot for extra storage, a stopwatch and an FM radio.
  
• If your Mom has a point and shoot digital camera, the SanDisk Ultra SDHC card will let her do more with it. It's reportedly twice as fast as ordinary memory cards, letting her take better pictures and record Full HD videos. It also saves time when moving images to a computer.
  
• If Mom already has an iPad or iPhone, the iLuv WorkStation Pro is a nice accessory. It's a slim audio dock for her iPad, iPhone or iPod. It has a rotating arm to enable easy viewing in either portrait or landscape mode and a Bluetooth keyboard for an improved typing experience. Best of all, the WorkStation Pro boosts the sound of her Apple devices with jAura Sound technology.
  
• If Mom already has plenty of gadgets, what about a stylish bag to carry them in? Kaboo has launched its new line of tech pouches to fill that need. Kaboo handbags provide convenient storage for all mobile devices, from iPad to Smartphone to e-reader. Each purse features a shock-absorbent “Tech Pouch” that help devices resist regular wear and tear and damage.

According to the Consumer Electronic Association, women spend an estimated $55 billion on consumer technology every year, so these might be the kinds of gifts Mom would buy for herself. Mothers, specifically, are 28 percent more likely to use a tablet, such as an iPad, than the average person according to a 2012 American Media Mom report.

Community Choice Financial, Inc., (CCFI) owns CheckSmart, a payday lender. The company recently faced setbacks in Arizona and Ohio when those states, in effect, outlawed payday lending.

But a coalition of consumer groups says CheckSmart has found a loophole involving prepaid bank cards, and is calling on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to stop the practice.

In normal payday loan activity, a consumer borrows an amount that is due in two weeks, in addition to a fee. When figured as an annual percentage rate (APR), the rate is often more than 400 percent. To stop the practice, Arizona capped interest rates at 26 percent and Ohio capped rates at 28 percent. But now, instead of selling payday loans in those states, CheckSmart sells prepaid bank cards.

“Prepaid cards and payday loans just don’t mix,” said Lauren Saunders, managing attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “Prepaid cards should be safe alternatives to bank accounts, not vehicles for evading state law with predatory loans that trap people, often those with the least means, in a spiral of debt.”

Saunders says these bank cards have very different features than other prepaid cards. She says the CheckSmart Insight Cards have two different loan programs, only they aren't called loans, but “overdrafts.”

Overdraft protection

Consumers who have their public benefits or wages directly deposited onto the cards can enroll in overdraft “protection” at a cost of $15 per $100 overdraft, or they can take an advance of their income at a rate of $14 per $100 plus 35.9 percent interest. The loans are repaid immediately upon the next direct deposit, resulting in an annual rate of 390 percent to 401 percent for a two-week loan. Because CheckSmart is selling “overdraft protection,” just as a bank does, it's technically not a payday loan, although its terms are almost identical.

The cards are issued by Florida-based Urban Trust Bank, which has also come under criticism by the consumer groups. In a letter to the OCC, more than two dozen national and state civil rights, consumer, and community groups urged the national banking regulator to stop Urban Trust Bank from issuing cards sold by CheckSmart in Arizona, Ohio, and other states where CheckSmart cannot legally make the loans directly.

“We urge the OCC to crack down on Urban Trust Bank for facilitating this deceit, which is an abuse of the national bank charter,” Saunders said.  

When you think of pretty laptops, you never really had to look any further than Apple. The cutting edge tech kings are pretty much solely responsible for bringing style and coolness to the mobile computer world. But if you have been taking notice, PCs are becoming quite stylish in their own right, coming a long way from the drab coloring of just a few short years ago.

Some examples of the PC's facelift include Samsung's ultra-thin Series 9 notebooks, as well as the chic-looking Sony VaioZ. Both are pricey, but share an equal amount of decent performance and beauty.

With Windows 8 expected to be released in October of 2012, PC makers have increased design efforts to take away the Apple customer who places huge importance on computer appearance. Windows 8 is also being designed to run on both touch screen tablets and PCs.

Vaio Z

And speaking of new PCs, the Sony  VaioZ is merely .66 inches in height and weighs only 2.57 pounds, making it ideal for long travels and carrying. The compact device is also great for using in areas with little room, like when you're jammed in between other grumpy travelers at the airport waiting area. When opening the laptop, the keyboard has a slight tilt better allowing access to the soft keyboard, which is much easier on the joints when typing for extended periods of time.

The VaioZ also comes with a small docking station providing better access to its USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, and for a $150 one can increase the laptops four-hour battery life by purchasing an extra battery that can be manually placed onto the computer. Ideal for those travelers who find the electrical outlet elusive, and remain on the perpetual hunt for decent current.

But no one said beauty and high performance are cheap. The VaioZ is currently going for $1,700, which is extremely high in today's laptop arena considering one can purchase a really well-functioning one for about $400.

With a Core i5, eight gigs of memory and 128 gigabytes of storage, the Samsung Series 9 isn't that much cheaper ringing in at $1,500.  Weighing 3 1/2 pounds and being only .58 inches wide, the sheer lightness and convenience of the laptop may be worth the price for those that have the funds. If laptops came any more light weight and thinner, they would probably tear upon opening them.

Apparently, PC makers have recently become aware of two things: One, that most computer users aren't true techies, and many times they place their purchases on first glance appearance over functionality. And two, that many people are willing to pay extremely high amounts for devices  that are pleasant to look at, even though they may be unpleasant on the wallet.

For the first time, America's 7,300 credit unions have topped $1 trillion in total assets, and in many ways they can thank the nation's large banks.

After major banks began adding new account fees last year, consumers rebelled, with many moving their accounts to small banks and, it turns out, credit unions.

At the end of March, U.S. credit unions had $1.02 trillion in total assets, according to the latest Monthly Credit Union Estimates survey released by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the nation's largest credit union trade group.

Simple reason for growth

The asset figure represents a 0.6 percent increase from the prior month, and a 2.5 percent jump since March 2011. The reason for the growth is simple, says CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel. More people are joining credit unions.

"Last year new-member growth at credit unions was fueled by consumers' dissatisfaction with high bank fees and the emergence of the Bank Transfer Day phenomenon," said Hampel, referring to the viral campaign that urged consumers to move their money from big banks to credit unions on Nov. 5, 2011, which was dubbed Bank Transfer Day. "The influx of new members and deposits in turn powered credit unions' asset growth."

According to Hampel, the surge in membership didn't end with Bank Transfer Day, but has continued well into 2012.

"Clearly, Bank Transfer Day has a tail to it,” he said. “Net membership growth at credit unions during the first three months of 2012 is greater than membership growth for the whole of 2010. People are discovering it is easier to join a credit union than they think, and they get a great deal both in terms of pricing and service."

Customers are the shareholders

The reason has to do with how credit unions are structured. They are not-for-profit, financial cooperatives, owned by the members they serve. Large banks have shareholders who must be rewarded with increasing profits and dividends. At credit unions the customers are the shareholders. Instead of profits, they get lower cost banking services.

Credit unions now have more than 94 million members but that's still a small segment of the banking market. CUNA says it expects to see a faster rate of growth for the foreseeable future.

As more consumers desert large national banks, the consumers that remain can expect to face even higher fees, as major banks seek new ways to increase profits in the face of a declining customer base.

With the digital age, Polaroid gave up on its instant camera, which had been a pop culture icon since the 1960s, and tried to adapt. And wouldn't you know it, now that the instant camera is no longer available, the look and feel of its photographs is retro-trendy.

Fortunately, now there's an app for that. In cooperation with Polaroid, Appadana Development has launched the Polamatic 1.0 application for the iPhone. With the 99-cent download, you can convert any photograph you take with your smartphone to the classic Polaroid format, with the wide white border.

Not only that, you can apply a filter with the app to make the photograph look just like one taken with one of the classic Polaroid instant cameras of days gone by. There are 12 color and tone effects, including rosy hue and sepia tone.

When taking a new picture, users may control the flash, grid, front or rear camera, and timer settings with the tap of a button.

Makes your new pictures look old

Users may select from 12 frames with names like "tape," "crumpled" and "kinda new." What's different about this app, the frames are not computer generated. Instead, they are high quality scans of new, used, and vintage Polaroid Classic Border frames, all designed to give the pictures a unique classic style.

Polaroid teamed with inventor Edward Land in 1948 to create an instant camera that produced photographs in 60 seconds. There were several incarnations of the popular cameras until the 1990s, when digital cameras became the new “instant” camera.

At that point Polaroid gave up on instant cameras and tried to ride the digital wave, with mixed results. Today on eBay, it's not uncommon to find the old instant cameras going for $100 or more as retro-oriented consumers look for that familiar photographic style.

With the approach of vacation season, here's something to consider: taking a vacation from your email – especially work email – can help you feel more like you're on vacation.

That might seem fairly obvious, but researcher at the U.S. Army and the University of California Irvine (UCI) conducted experiments to actually prove it. They attached heart-rate monitors to computer users in a suburban office setting, while software sensors detected how often they switched windows.

People who read email changed screens twice as often and were in a steady “high alert” state, with more constant heart rates. Those removed from email for five days experienced more natural, variable heart rates.

Less multitasking, less stress

“We found that when you remove email from workers’ lives, they multitask less and experience less stress,” said UCI informatics professor Gloria Mark, who co-authored the study.

Participants in the study were computer-dependent civilian employees at the Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center outside Boston. Those with no email reported feeling better able to do their jobs and stay on task, with fewer stressful and time-wasting interruptions.

Measurements bore that out, Mark said. People with email switched windows an average of 37 times per hour. Those without changed screens half as often – about 18 times in an hour.

She said the findings could be useful for boosting productivity and suggested that controlling email login times, batching messages or other strategies might be helpful.

“Email vacations on the job may be a good idea,” she noted. “We need to experiment with that.”

Interestingly, Mark said it was hard to recruit volunteers for the study, but once participants began to do without email, they loved it.

“In general, they were much happier to interact in person,” she said.

Pharmaceutical company Abbott Labs has agreed to a $100 million settlement with 45 states and the District of Columbia for the illegal off-label marketing of its drug Depakote. It's the largest consumer protection-based pharmaceutical settlement ever reached, according to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

Depakote is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of seizure disorders, mania associated with bipolar disorder, and prophylaxis of migraines. However, the attorneys general alleged Abbott marketed the drug for unapproved uses, including treatment of schizophrenia, agitated dementia, and autism.

In addition to the record payment, Abbott is prohibited from making false or misleading claims about Depakote, promoting that drug for off-label uses and from handing out financial incentives that lead to its off-label use.

Sending a message

"This settlement sends a clear message to companies that are willing to cut corners to make a dollar: this type of activity will not be tolerated in Virginia," Cuccinelli said. "It will also ensure that pharmaceutical companies do not illegally market their drugs for uses not approved by the FDA.”

The $100 million will be distributed to the participating states for a variety of purposes. Cuccinelli said Virginia would use the money to fund future consumer protection enforcement.

Depakote is the trade name for valproic acid, which is used alone or with other medications to treat certain types of seizures, according to the National Institutes of Health. Valproic acid is also used to treat mania in people with bipolar disorder. It is also used to prevent migraine headaches, but not to relieve headaches that have already begun. Valproic acid is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. It works by increasing the amount of a certain natural substance in the brain.

Attorneys general of the District of Columbia and the following states participated in today’s settlement:  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Who hasn't purchased a Dr. Dre song in the last 20 years? Or turned up the volume in their car to one of his laid-back West Coast beats that's been a signature of the California producer since the early 90s? At the very least you've bopped your head to one of his tunes even if you didn't realize it.

In recent years the NWA alumni has been more of a business mogul than a Hip-Hop producer, and his latest creation of headphones called Beats by Dr. Dre have been all the rave among music aficionados, and his latest released pair attempts to improve upon an already great product.

This brings us to the new MIXR headphones by DJ David Guetta, the French house music producer and DJ who has been a mainstay on the Top 40 charts since 2009. Although primarily designed for DJ's, anyone will find these headphones quite stellar, even if they're not spinning a musical set for a roomful of partygoers.

What's most noticeable is the shrunken size of the headphones, which are unlike the bulkier ear-swallowing earlier editions. Guetta designed these headphones under the company Monster -- of Monster cable fame -- which partnered with Dr. Dre to change the way headphones look and sound.

Although their appearance is a bit sleeker, the high quality headphones do not lose any of the strong bass and crystal clear sound that Beats by Dr. Dre have been synonymous with. With a lightweight and sponge-like headband, one wouldn't know they're wearing them if it weren't for the blaring tunes shooting out of them. As with any headphones they may have to be broken in first, as they feel a bit stiff right out of the package.

Smooth rotation

A unique feature of the DJ-inspired headphones is their ability to rotate off your ear, which allows you to also hear outside sounds while wearing the headphones, as this is a necessary thing for DJ's who tend to spin and play multiple records simultaneously. Although other headphones have this same feature, the MIXR rotates in a much smoother and more comfortable fashion.

The design of the headphones is pretty unique too, as they appear in colors a bit more muted than the bold coloring of Monster's other headphones. Also, their flexibility allows one to feel like the headphones are a tool for casual enjoyment and not a serious piece of studio equipment that will break upon first drop.

Although the headphones don't match the clarity of Bose headphones, or the visual fanciness of  Skullcandy's headphones, they'll still produce a non-muffled and clear bass sound upon each use.

As many designer headphones go for $500 plus, it's refreshing to see the MIXR listed at $249.99. Still an exorbitant price for those who just want to listen to their audio in private, but reasonable for those who reside in the world of high-end music equipment.

It sounds like something a medical James Bond might come up with. Your smartphone rings with a warning from sensors embedded in your underwear – you are about to have a heart attack.

It's not fiction but reality, say engineers at the University of Arkansas, who have developed a wireless health-monitoring system that gathers critical patient information, regardless of the patient’s location, and communicates that information in real time to a physician, hospital or directly to the patient.

The system is comprised of tiny fabric sensors integrated into a conventional sports bra for women and vest for men. A lightweight and wireless module snaps onto the garments, allowing the sensors to communicate with system software that relies on a smart phone to collect information, compress it and send it over a variety of wireless networks.

E-bra

“Our e-bra enables continuous, real-time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological changes,” said Vijay Varadan, a professor of electrical engineering who took a lead role in the project. “It is a platform on which various sensors for cardiac-health monitoring are integrated into the fabric. The garment collects and transmits vital health signals to any desired location in the world.”

In a way it's like having your vital signs monitored 24-7. The system monitors blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, some neural activity and all the readings provided by a conventional electrocardiograph (ECG), including the ability to display inverted T waves, which indicate the onset of cardiac arrest.

The system does not require a cuff or any extra accessories to measure blood pressure and could therefore replace conventional blood-pressure monitors, the engineers say. It could also replace the cumbersome combination of ECG sensors and wires attached to patients while they walk on treadmills.

Signals sent to wireless module

Electrical signals and other physiological data gathered by the sensors are sent to the snap-on wireless module, the contents of which are housed in a plastic box that is slightly smaller than a ring box. As the critical wireless component, the module is essentially a low-powered laptop computer that includes an amplifier, an antenna, a printed circuit board, a microprocessor, a Bluetooth module, a battery and various sensors.

The size of the module depends heavily on power consumption and minimum battery size. Varadan said that anticipated battery and Bluetooth upgrades will allow the researchers to build a smaller – 1.5 inches long, 0.75 inch wide and 0.25 inch deep – lighter and flexible module that will replace the rigid box.

This is your heart calling

Data from the sensors then stream to ordinary cell phones and hand-held devices, which expand the use of the system beyond health care. By carrying a cell phone, athletes can monitor their vitals, as well as other metrics, such as number of calories burned during a workout. To render clean data, the software includes filtering algorithms to mitigate problems due to motion of the hand-held device during exercise.

Not only is the high-tech clothing a way for patients to know when to head for the emergency room, the software can also send the data directly to the patient's doctor. A GPS system will tell the health care provider the patient's location.

Who would use the system? Patients at risk of a heart attack, for one. Especially patients who had already suffered one or more such attacks.

Federal officials say at least 14 people have been infected with Salmonella Infantis, apparently from contact with dry pet food produced by Diamond Pet Foods.

Public health investigators say they used DNA "fingerprints" to identify the strain of Salmonella, matching several of the cases with dry pet food produced at a Diamond plant in South Carolina. Illness in humans has been reported in nine states, including Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The illnesses began between October 8, 2011 and April 22, 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ill persons range in age from less than one year old to 82 years old. Seventy-seven percent of patients are female. Among the 9 patients with available information, five were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. The CDC cautioned that there may be cases that have not been reported, including any illness that occurred after April 1.

Lamb meal

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.

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.

Of five ill persons who could recall the type of dog food with which they had contact, four identified dry dog food produced by Diamond Pet Foods that may have been produced at a single facility in South Carolina.

As part of this outbreak investigation, Ohio public health and agriculture officials collected and tested dry dog food produced by Diamond Pet Foods. The outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis was isolated from an opened bag of Diamond Brand Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food collected from the home of an ill person, and an unopened bag of the product collected from a retail store.

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.

The investigation is continuing to determine if other brands of dry dog food produced at this facility may be linked to human illnesses. 

Chrysler is recalling about 120,000 Chrysler 300s and Dodge Chargers from the 2011-12 model years to fix a problem with the power distribution system for the anti-lock braking and electronic stability control systems. 

The company said the power distribution system can overheat, which could cause the braking and stability control systems to fail. 

Chrysler will notify owners and dealers will relocate the power system free of charge to avoid the overheating problem. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403 about Recall No. M10.

Today's consumers have become extremely savvy. They're masters at seeking out the latest and greatest in styles, bargains and new trends. And, like it or not, smartphones  have become their weapon of choice, forcing retailers and marketers to shift their normal practices to both retain and communicate with customers.

In a new research report released by German market research company GFK, four important areas were identified in smartphones and tablets that help today's consumer with their purchasing:

• information gathering,
• value seeking,
• social media access, and
• transactions.

Results from the study show that out of those shoppers with a tablet or smartphone, 50 percent used a mobile device to compare prices while shopping in stores, 44 percent were seeking out coupons, 33 percent "liked" a certain store on Facebook, and 17 percent actually purchased something using a phone app.

The report leaves little doubt that, complaints and grousing aside, retailers who don't go with the flow will be swept away, or at least left high and dry. Target has been prominent among the large retailers resisting the use of mobile devices by customers browsing its stores and earlier this week banished the Amazon Kindle from its stores, perhaps in retaliation for Amazon's growing dominance of online shopping.   

Call in the lawyers

Retailers have also been spending big bucks on lawyers and lobbyists, hoping to impose sales taxes on consumers who make online purchases, so far with only mixed success.  A judge in Illinois earlier this week struck down that state's so-called "Amazon tax," saying it imposed unconstitutional restraings on online advertisers.

Consumers are not very sympathetic to this view. Readers responding to a ConsumerAffairs story last December about Amazon's price-comparison app gave short shrift to local stores' complaints. 

"Small retailers need to do some rethinking. When they don't have want I want, they expect me to 'settle' for what is in stock. I'm tired of settling," said Zan Mayo Glodich. 

Marvin McConoughey agreed, adding: "Small retailers should tremble. When consumers have a choice where and how to buy the mostly-imported goods that online and offline retailers sell, they often go with the lowest total cost. Retail markups are sometimes astonishingly large. Price shopping is a time-honored act of wisdom that should be intensified, not obstructed."

Consumers take control

While the battle between the cyber and brick-and-mortar worlds is usually portrayed as a struggle between rival business groups, consumer activists and market researchers say it may more correctly be seen as consumers asserting their right to control the shopping experience.

"Using mobile devices for shopping is both a symptom and a cause of what we see as a larger trend - a desire for greater control over the shopping experience," explained Alison Chaltas of Retail Strategy, an industry research group. "Product marketers and retailers can turn this challenge into an opportunity by becoming agents of learning, efficiency, and even creativity through their mobile efforts. By meeting the changing needs of shoppers, brands can inspire not just short-term sales but also long-term relationships."

Senior Vice President of GFK Rob Barrish said, "Mobile and online shopping are not just confined to big-ticket items; our research shows that the mobile trend is substantially impacting food and beverage, health and beauty, and even lawn and garden. Regardless of the brand, choosing the right mobile opportunities from coupons to co-creation of new products is essential to making digital efforts effective."

When it comes to selecting the best services and products, the report found that those with smartphones or tablets have a higher chance of feeling "more in control than ever before," compared to traditional shoppers.

Stores becoming showrooms

Also, nearly one-fourth of those with mobile devices merely use the physical store for looking at the item before going online to buy it -- a trend despised by brick-and-mortar retailers who grouse that their stores are turning into showrooms for Amazon and other online marketers.

This is especially true younger adults 18 to 34, as they are three times more likely to use a tablet or smartphone for buying items, compared to older adults 50 to 64. GFK also states that eventually all brands in the near future will choose to cater to those shoppers who use their mobile devices for purchasing assistance, since the younger generation will not know a world that doesn't use mobile device for shopping.

GFK based their findings on 1,008 interviews from March 16 to March 18 2012.

Consumers continued to find relief at the gas pump during the week as the price of gasoline, which had been on the rise for most of the year, fell nearly six cents a gallon over the last seven days.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.802 per gallon, down from $3.826 last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. Fuel prices are now more than 12 cents a gallon lower than they were a month ago.

The average price of diesel fuel today is $4.100 per gallon, down from $4.094 a week ago.

Crude oil prices continued to lose ground this week as oil traders continued to see evidence of an economic slowdown. Gasoline prices have reflected that, and did so for most of last month.

“February and March of this year saw the national average price at the pump increase for all but four days — rising 48 cents from $3.45 on February 1 to $3.93 on March 31.," said Avery Ash, AAA's manager of federal relations.

"April has seen a full reversal of this trend as prices fell for 23 of 30 days during the month, and have now declined for 14 consecutive days — falling by nine cents during this most recent streak."

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased in the previous week by 2.8 million barrels, the most since 1980. Refineries are operating at about 86 percent capacity.

Meanwhile, lower prices at the pump are returning to more states in the southeast, while falling more slowly in the plains and mountain west states, that enjoyed the cheapest gas over the winter. Georgia and Alabama joined the ranks of the ten states with the cheapest fuel this week.

The states with the most expensive gas this week are:

• Hawaii ($4.570)
• Alaska ($4.357)
• California ($4.191)
• Connecticut ($4.084)
• Washington, DC ($4.059)
• New York ($4.076)
• Washington State ($4.074)
• Illinois ($4.030)
• Oregon ($4.013)
• Vermont ($3.932)

 The states with the least expensive gas this week are:

• Missouri ($3.510)
• Oklahoma ($3.536)
• South Carolina ($3.553)
• Kansas ($3.568)
• Arkansas ($3.589)
• Iowa ($3.608)
• Alabama ($3.628)
• Tennessee ($3.607)
• Mississippi ($3.636)
• Georgia($3.644)

BMW's X1, billed as a "premium subcompact," will hit U.S. markets this fall, after selling more than 275,000 units in global markets. The U.S. version, built in Leipzig, Germany, includes new energy-saving features including brake energy regeneration, auto-start and the ECO PRO package of fuel-saving technologies.

The new 2013 BMW X1 will arrive in BMW showrooms in the fall of 2012 starting at an MSRP of $31,545 (including $895 Destination and Handling).

BMW likes to say it invented the premium subcompact but concedes the segment is now highly competitive. BMW has had no trouble competing effectively, however, and demand for the X1 is so strong in China that the automaker has opened a plant Tiexi in Shenyang Province to serve the Chinese market.

The arrival of the BMW X1 to the U.S. "coincides with an update that includes exterior and interior refinements as well as a host of BMW EfficientDynamics technologies," the company said. Another element of the update is the availability of BMW Lines for the first time in an SAV (BMW's term for subcompact SUV), as an alternative to the base trim level.

"Both the BMW xLine and BMW Sport Line offer exclusive design and equipment features. The xLine emphasizes the robust versatility of the new BMW X1 while the Sport Line accentuates its performance and handling. For enthusiasts who want to accentuate the sporting character of their X1 even further, an M Sport Package is also available," BMW said.

The X1 also offers something you may not associate with a BMW -- a four-cylinder engine. The new 2.0-liter turbo-charged powerplant delivers 240 horsepower at 5,000 rpm with maximum torque of 260 lb-ft is developed at 1,250 rpm and remains constant up to 4,800 rpm. It is mated to BMW's latest 8-speed Steptronic automatic. This combination powers the X1 sDrive28i and xDrive28i from 0-60 mph in 6.2 and 6.3 seconds respectively. Preliminary EPA mileage estimates are 24 mpg city/33 mpg highway/27 mpg combined for the X1 sDrive28i while the AWD X1 xDrive28i has preliminary EPA estimates of 22 mpg city/30 mpg highway/25 mpg combined.

The younger generation is usually considered to be the least concerned about saving money, and the most concerned about spending it. So it's a bit ironic to know that Generation Y are leaders of the new clothing swaps that are taking place from coast to U.S. coast.

Whether it's trading clothes at home swap parties, or using popular bartering websites like Swapstyle.com, the 18-to-34 year old demographic is showing retailers that designer duds don't have to be brand new to be highly coveted.

A recent survey conducted by WSL Strategic Retail it showed that 80 percent of consumers 18 to 34 said getting the lowest prices for the items they want is most important, which is up from 69 percent in their survey conducted two years prior.

"They can stay engaged in fashion without getting temselves in more debt," said Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL. "This generation has also grown up in an online world of Craigslist and eBay where selling something or swapping something has become somewhat second nature."

Anemic income

Disposable income has been at an all time low in recent years, even among younger groups. As a result, retailers have been challenged in getting younger shoppers in their stores, so many of are trying to increase their web presence in order to better communicate with younger shoppers.

Gap is now working with fashion bloggers to better market thier latest spring collection, and Urban Offitters is offering "social free shipping", which ia free shipping perk if they pass along the new promotion to their online friends.

There are also many websites and clothes swapping clubs that have been initiated to capitilize on the growing swapping trend. Some include the Five Boroughs Clothing Swap in New York, the Washington D.C. Clothing Swap Society, the Frugal Fashionista's Clothing Swap Group, and Meetup.com.

Alision Paul who leads a clothes swapping group in Chicago said "People are saying, 'I can at least figure out another way to look like I'm wearing something new and fresh without spending top dollar on it, or waiting for it to go on sale and not being able to find my size,' " she said.

Clothes swappers are also using the iPhone app Poshmark, that hosts real time shopping parties where consumers buy, sell and trade their own clothes and accessories, and it doesn't seem like the trend is going away any time soon.

"I've been trying to aggressively pay off student loans from undergrad and grad school," said Weidner. "I've heard a lot more about people being interested in participating in clothing swaps and I've been invited to a number of them.

Spring time is all about newness, fresh starts and different beginnings, but this spring looked more like last spring, as consumers were still reluctant to shop and spend money in the first four months of 2012.

Retail analysts reported that the U.S. unemployment rate, coupled with low sales numbers and a jittery stock market has store owners worried that low consumer spending will continue into the summer months.

"The confidence is not there among consumers to predict, 'Hey we'll have a really strong summer,' " said Judith Russell, editor of the Robin Report. "But there is probably going to be a boost over Mother's Day in the next couple of weeks."

According to business data providers Thomson Reuters, major chain stores expected a 1.5 percent lift in sales in April 2012, but fell short with only a 0.8 percent increase, which is the lowest monthly increase this year, and considerably lower than March when sales were up 4.3 percent from one year prior.

Warm weather

Industry experts attributed the poor sales number to unreasonably warm weather, which led consumers to buy summer clothes over the late winter items they would normally purchase. Thomson Reuters confirmed that in April and March combined, retailers saw a 2.5 percent increase, which was down from 5.4 percent in those same months in 2011. Overall, nearly 53 percent of all retailers fell under their sales expectations so far this year.

However, some analysts are cautiously optimistic and believe the summer months will better inspire consumers to spend as the hot season is almost synonymous with new outfits and accessories.

"It's going to be relatively slow and modest growth through the summer," said Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics Inc. "Two to three percent growth would be my expectation, provided we don't see a significant drop-off of job growth."

Not all retailers suffered poor sales in April. The sports chain Zumiez Inc. scored a 10.1 percent increase, and high end retailers Nordstrom Inc. witnessed a sales lift of 7.1 percent in April 2012. But, other companies failed to hit its desired sales mark. Costco Wholesale Corp, Macy's Inc., and Target Corp., all fell below its expected numbers. Retail experts do say however, that Mother's Day should provide a jolt and bring spring's low consumer spending up a bit.

Which provides a smidgen of hope to retailers who are looking to make up ground from a dismal sales start this year.

The Canadian-based company Research in Motion (RIM) has seen better days.

In recent months, the multinational telecommunications company has lost partnerships and endured plummeting stock prices, so obviously the company has been quite eager to showcase a new product to strengthen its public perception, which brings us to the BlackBerry 10. The new device that was recently introduced at the company's annual BlackBerry World convention.

The BlackBerry 10 is expected to directly compete with Apple's iOS, as well as the Android. The difference is that users will be guided by several windows divided into sections, or panes, instead of icons.

This may be the beginning of the end for the BlackBerry keyboard, as touchscreen competitors have made phone keyboards seem dated and hard to use, but company CEO ThorstenHeins did say that the company will still produce devices with keyboards in the future for those with large thumbs or a taste for the tactile.

Hopefully those future phones won't look anything like the old BlackBerry keyboards, as the BlackBerry 7 feels extremely clunky and and outdated, and doesn't have the sleekness and light weight of its successful competitors. 

Screens

The Home screen will contain specific tabs for application shortcuts that will display information in real time, similar to the Android widgets. The panes will also allow you to navigate freely from task to task, without having to close one application before opening another.

"No one has time to pop in and out of applications every time they want to change an application," Heins said in a statement. "We want to use a paradigm that is easy and fast. It's all about the flow."

Another useful feature will be the phone's ability to tailor itself to each individual user. For example, the virtual keyboard will adjust to the user's particular typing style, and it will also pre-populate words that it believes you're trying to convey.

RIM as a whole has been trying to establish a new niche of customers that probably wouldn't use the iPhone or Android. The company is focusing on the business community, as well as small business owners to better associate Blackberry with serious business use, as opposed to something toy-like or playful like its colorful competitors. Hence their recent slogan, "We need tools not toys."

It's kind of crunch time for RIM, and its latest Florida convention was of great importance to rally the company's troops as well as its investors. Although RIM is selling relatively well in Asia, the company's market share has gone down considerably in the United States, continuing to go down another 5 percent as of yesterday.

Most of us like wearing jeans, it's the shopping for them that can sometimes be an arduous task. This really holds true in today's jean market, as you can now get every jean type from the skinniest of the skinny jeans to the working-in-the-fields-slopping in-the mud variety.

Aside from racking our brains searching for the perfect style of jean, trying to find a pair that actually fit correctly can also be a task tougher that's than the denim your shopping for. We all want to be that size of yesteryear, but sometimes the image of ourselves in our heads vastly differ from the image of ourselves in our mirrors, making it even harder to figure out the exact jean size we need to purchase.

But once again, it's technology to the rescue. Seven different Southland malls throughout Southern California have set up digital sizing machines that determine exactly the best size and fit of not only jeans but any hard-to-size garment. The name of the apparatus is pretty clever too. The Me-Ality digital size machine. Get it?

Fitting wand

Here's what it does: A shopper steps inside of the phone-booth-size contraption, and stands completely motionless with either hands to the sides. A component called a fitting "wand" spins around the customer for about a minute, documenting every last measurement of the shoppers size and frame.

Then almost like a personal stylist, it recommends not only the correct size, but specific brands and even different styles. The machine is for both men and women, and it will only suggest items and brands that can be purchased in that particular mall.

If you've ever been into one of those body-scanning machines at the airport, you have a good idea of how this machine operates. One of the first customers to use the machine was quoted as saying, "This could be really useful for people who don't know what fits them or what style is best. I know it takes me a long time to find jeans that fit, so I don't buy them very often."

Which is what the designers of the machines anticipated, as removing the mystery from correct styles and sizes will allow consumers to shop with more confidence, and ultimately spend more money.

Saves time

It's also a time saver. If less time is being spent on trying on different items, the more time consumers will have to select something and then purchase it. Pretty crafty on the malls part.

But that's what technology does, right? It sometimes creates shiny new toys for people to be fascinated with, while making them forget that the new toy is making them spend more money.

The new machines can be found throughout Southern California at Valencia, The Westfield malls in Culver City, Santa Anita, Santa Ana, Topanga, West Covina, and Thousand Oaks Mall.

April was a month of wild, destructive weather in the U.S., especially in the Midwestern states.

During the month's most notable outbreak, multiple central states sustained widespread tornado, hail and wind damage. At least 94 tornado touchdowns were recorded during a 72-hour stretch.

In Kansas, an EF-3 tornado just outside the city of Wichita affected at least 777 homes and 165 businesses. Additional tornado damage occurred in southwest Iowa and northwest Oklahoma, killing at least six people. The economic toll was also staggering.

A report by Impact Forecasting shows the series of severe weather events across central and southern sections of the United States caused upwards of $1 billion in insured losses. Economic losses were even higher.

Consumers feel it

This is relevant to consumers because major losses by insurance companies are usually passed on, in the form of higher premiums or cancelled policies. Even consumers living outside the recent area of destructive impact can feel the impact.

"Without notice, Allstate increased our home owners insurance 24 percent due to 'weather related claims,'" Ray, of Amherst, N.Y., wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. "There has been no significant weather event in this area since the ice storm of 2007. Adding to the anger is that our insurance rep failed to inform us of the increase while visiting beforehand to review our policy and was non-responsive when asked for some notice from Allstate justifying the increase."

Tina, from Tennessee, says she filed two weather-related claims with State Farm, one in 2008 and one last year.

"We received a letter from them stating that as of May, we would no longer have homeowners with them - they were canceling our insurance because of the two claims," Tina writes. "Really? They are weather-related! Wind and hail! Not neglected home!"

A claim is a claim

But in a numbers-oriented industry like insurance, a claim is a claim. Last month Texas opened an investigation into State Farm's cancellation of 11,000 homeowner policies.

The Impact Forecasting report says a severe weather outbreak in Texas, which comprised at least 21 tornadoes and widespread hail, damaged more than 1,100 homes alone in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metro region. Various insurers received at least 105,000 claims with payouts in excess of $650 million.

"While not as substantial as the historic 2011 season to this point in terms of overall losses, the 2012 severe weather season has certainly caused significant damage across portions of central and southern sections of the United States," said Steve Jakubowski, President of Impact Forecasting.

While weather damage so far this year has been severe, it may just be beginning. Tornado frequency data dating to 1991 indicates that May is typically the most active tornado month of the year in the U.S., which Jakubowski says is a warning to all consumers to remain aware of potential storm threats.