Current Events in May 2012

When Apple introduced the iPad tablet computer in April 2010, it was an immediate hit, offering consumers a portable device with which to access a wide variety of multi-media content.

It also carried a $500 price tag – a bit high for some consumers to pay for a device to play movies and music and to download books and periodicals. A number of other manufacturers introduced similar tablets that run on the competing Android operating system.

And with competition it appears prices are beginning to soften. When Apple introduced its latest version of the iPad earlier this year, it kept the entry level price at $499. But it also offered the iPad 2, last year's version, at an entry level price of $399.

Amazon, which had been producing inexpensive e-readers for a while, last year introduce the Kindle Fire, a color e-reader that operates very much like a tablet computer. It's price was just $199.

The Kindle Fire got stellar reviews but sales began to taper off in the early part of 2012, despite it's relatively low price.

Now, Google is reportedly preparing to launch its tablet this summer and, according to a report in DigiTimes, will feature a $199 price tag as well. The report says the tablet will be sold through the Google Play Store.

Meanwhile, the Blackberry Playbook sells for $198, Sony's S Tablet sells for under $300 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 begins at $250.

While tablets are not likely to take the place of laptops, their lower prices may cause a new group of consumers to give them another look.

Since the start of the Great Recession, homeowners have been hit hard by rising foreclosures, but they aren't the only ones feeling a financial squeeze.

New research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire shows an increasing number of renters are feeling the pain, with younger renters and people in the West feeling the most “cost burdened.”

“Increased need among American renters indicates that strong public housing programs are necessary to protect individuals from becoming overburdened,” said Jessica Bean, research associate at the Carsey Institute. “However, this research also demonstrates that the lowest-earning households experienced the smallest increases in cost burden over time, indicating that without the housing programs already in existence, America’s most vulnerable households likely would have fared even worse.”

A homeowner or renter is considered “cost burdened” if they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utility costs. Because home sales have plunged over the last four years, more people are moving into the rental market to find housing. That has had the effect of driving up rents.

The report found that nationwide, 49 percent of all renters were “cost burdened” in 2010, with the highest rates occurring in the West and in central cities. In all regions and across all place types, the percentage of renters who were cost burdened increased between 2007 and 2010.

The largest increase in cost-burdened renters occurred in rural areas, up 4.3 percentage points by 2010, compared with increases of 3.4 and 2.9 percentage points in suburban places and central cities, respectively.

Young renters hit hardest

Sixty percent of young renters, those under age 25, were cost burdened in 2010. In all regions, the largest increase in the proportion of renters who were cost burdened occurred among those with a household income between $20,000 and $50,000.

Ironically, home affordability has never been higher. Mortgage rates are at all time lows and housing prices have fallen significantly from their pre-bubble highs. Mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance, are generally much lower than rents on comparable square footage.

However, in the wake of the housing meltdown, fewer prospective buyers can qualify for loans. Lenders now require higher down payments – often 20 percent of the purchase price or more – and have raised minimum acceptable credit scores.

As a result, rents are rising just about everywhere. The Manhattan Rental Market report found April 2012 rents rose 0.4 percent from March.

Richmond, Va., has 15 new apartment buildings under construction in its urban core, adding about 1,200 units, according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The report says the apartments are “leasing up quickly.”

Some people can roll up their sleeves at the doctor's office and get a shot without even flinching. Others fall to pieces at the sight of a needle.

For the latter group, there is new hope. Researchers at MIT have engineered a device that delivers a tiny, high-pressure jet of medicine through the skin without the use of a hypodermic needle. The device can be programmed to deliver a range of doses to various depths — an improvement over similar jet-injection systems that are now commercially available.

And this new invention may do more than spare the needle-phobics. It may also prevent accidents in the healthcare industry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that hospital-based health care workers accidentally prick themselves with needles 385,000 times each year.

Then, there are patients who must self-inject themselves with a drug every days, such as diabetics who must take daily insulin. A pain-free injection device might make them more likely to follow doctors' orders.

“If you are afraid of needles and have to frequently self-inject, compliance can be an issue,” said Catherine Hogan, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the research team. “We think this kind of technology … gets around some of the phobias that people may have about needles.”

Search for alternatives

This isn't the first attempt to make the needle obsolete, as scientists have been searching for years for alternatives to the hypodermic needle. For example, nicotine patches slowly release drugs through the skin. But these patches can only release drug molecules small enough to pass through the skin’s pores, limiting the type of medicine that can be delivered.

Researchers have been developing new technologies capable of delivering them, including jet injectors which produce a high-velocity jet of drugs that penetrate the skin. While there are several jet-based devices on the market today, Hogan notes that there are drawbacks to these commercially available devices. The mechanisms they use, particularly in spring-loaded designs, are essentially “bang or nothing,” releasing a coil that ejects the same amount of drug to the same depth every time.

The MIT prototype is a jet-injection system that delivers a range of doses to variable depths in a highly controlled manner. It ejects the drug at very high pressure and velocity, almost the speed of sound in air, out through the ampoule’s nozzle — an opening as wide as a mosquito’s proboscis. The person giving the injection can control the force.

With college tuition costs growing higher and higher, saving up the needed funds is a challenge for many families. The 529 is a popular plan that helps families save for the future costs of tuition, but according to Edward Jones, 60 percent of Americans are clueless about what these plans are, and how they work.

The survey, which included 1,006 participants, was designed to gauge the level of awareness of the 529 plan through a series of pre-planned questions. When respondents were asked to select the best description of the plan among a list of choices, 62 percent of respondents  selected the wrong answer, and 14 percent admitted to having no idea what the answer was.

College costs have been on the rise for quite some time, and by the year 2034 tuition cost will be nearly $288,000 for a four-year private school, and $123,000 at a public school, according to recent analysis, but only a relatively small amount of households kneo the benefits of the 529 plan.

Higher-income families more knowledgeable

But the 529 survey did show that families with higher incomes knew more about the tax plan.

More than 27 percent of respondents making less than $35,000 a year didn't know what a 529 was, while 57 percent of families making between $75,000 and $100,000 a year knew exactly what it was. And 62 percent of those families making over $100,000 were familiar with the 529 plan.

The survey also showed those with college degrees seemed to be more knowledgeable of the plan, as 53 percent of of this participant group said they were familiar with 529. Out of those respondents who went to school and didn't graduate, 33 percent chose the correct answers on the survey, compared to 29 percent of those respondents who only attended high school or dropped out.

The report also went on to show that 48 percent of families with children knew the benefits of a 529 plan, regardless of what their children's ages were, and those with children between the ages of 13 and 17 were 43 percent less likely than others to know what a 529  was.

The survey also showed those families with children under the age of 13 were most aware of the tax plan, as over half identified the 529, at 52 percent.

Geography also contributed to the gaps in understanding of the 529, as the Northeast was most knowledgably (45 percent), followed by Midwest families (40 percent), West Coast (33 percent), and South (35 percent).

The survey was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for Edward Jones.

At the start of the Memorial Day weekend, motorists will find gasoline prices that are steadily moving lower and 15 cents a gallon less than they were at the start of last year's holiday weekend that marks the start of summer driving season.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.666 per gallon, down from $3.713 last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. Fuel prices are nearly 18 cents a gallon lower than they were a month ago.

For the first time in months, the average price of diesel fuel is below $4 a gallon, clocked today at $3.964 per gallon, down from $4.017 a week ago.

Oil prices continued their decline on world markets during the week as traders worried that debt problems there would lead to slower growth. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported this week that stockpiles of crude continued to rise in the previous week while gasoline supplies declined.

Rising oil supplies

Oil inventories rose by 900,000 barrels to 382.5 million while gasoline supplies fell by 3.3 million barrels to 201 million. Consumer demand for gasoline fell by 1.9 percent from a year ago, despite being cheaper than it was last year.

In the individual states, the biggest decline in gasoline prices this week came in the states that already enjoy the lowest prices at the pump. In particular, the lowest prices are now found in the southern states.

The average price dropped by nine cents a gallon in South Carolina, seven cents in Arkansas, nine cents in Alabama and eight cents in Tennessee. States with the most expensive fuel, meanwhile, tend to be clustered in the west.

The states with the highest gas prices this week are:

• Hawaii ($4.539)
• Alaska ($4.518)
• California ($4.302)
• Washington State ($4.242)
• Oregon ($4.221)
• Nevada ($3.943)
• Connecticut ($3.937)
• New York ($3.916)
• Illinois ($3.882)
• Idaho ($3.817)

 The states with the lowest gas prices this week are:

• South Carolina ($3.299)
• Alabama ($3.357)
• Tennessee ($3.367)
• Arkansas ($3.370)
• Mississippi ($3.384)
• Oklahoma ($3.391)
• Missouri ($3.392)
• Georgia($3.422)
• Louisiana ($3.434)
• Kansas ($3.441)

As more proof of the economy's improvement surfaces, consumers are starting to dig into their pockets once again. The latest sign of increased consumer spending comes by way of an IBM report concerning this year's Memorial Day travel.

IBM gathered consumer opinions and writings about Memorial Day from an analytic and language processing technology. Opinions were pulled from blogs, Twitter, Facebook, message boards and additional social media pages.

The study showed that plans and conversations about Memorial Day grew by 46 percent compared to this time last year, and there is a 65 percent increase in consumers planning to fly to their destination this Memorial Day weekend. In addition, more people will spend money on gas this holiday, as the report showed a 13 percent increase in discussions about driving this Memorial Day weekend.

The Social Sentiment Index also showed that retailers could benefit from consumers spending more money this weekend. According to the results, the ratio of positive comments over negative comments concerning Memorial Day shopping was 6.5 to one, which is a rise compared to last years ration of 1.3 to one.

ConsumerAffairs uses a similar sentiment analysis program to see how consumers are feeling about various brands and topics.  The 1.9 million social media postings we analyzed found Americans looking forward to the long weekend, which is not only a time to honor the nation's war dead but also traditionally marks the beginning of summer.

The IBM report also showed that people aren't speaking as badly about the economy as in 2011, as negative opinions have decreased by 50 percent. In 2011, 4.9 percent of bloggers and social media users spoke negatively about the U.S. economy, and only 4.9 percent spoke harshly about it in 2012.

Gas prices

And gas prices are lower than last year, causing Memorial Day travelers to hit the roads in higher numbers. In the state of New Jersey for example, the price of gas last Memorial Day was $3.80 per gallon, compared $3.55 this holiday. On the national level regular unleaded gasoline comes in around $3.68 per gallon, compared to $3.94 per gallon last Memorial Day.

"We're seeing a nice downturn in prices, and we're expecting consumers who have been holding back to venture out," said Rose White, spokeswoman for AAA Nebraska. "Here in the Midwest, we're seeing some of the lowest prices."

Over 34 million people are anticipated to hit the roads this Memorial Day, which is a 1.2 percent increase from last holiday.

"When analytics are applied to social media conversations, it identifies more than what people are talking about. This is valuable insight into people's preferences and attitudes about a product or a service and helps us understand why people do what they do," said Marty Salfen, IBM general manager, travel & transportation."

"Being able to predict, plan or act on sentiment around Memorial Day travel in real-time can be an opportunity for businesses to capitalize on fast-moving trends. An airline could offer fliers different, more specific services or deals, transportation officials could provide more alternate routes, retailers could staff up for the long weekend."

Showrooming, where a customers goes to a brick-and-mortar-store to view an item before purchasing it online, has been the new way to shop for many of today's consumers. Customers will typically scan an item with their smartphone to buy it later online.

In response, many retailers have gone to painstaking efforts to get consumers to purchase items in stores, as opposed to on Amazon, for example. But now Target is actually encouraging customers to use their smartphones to scan its products before buying them.

Target this week introduced the Shopkick app, where shoppers can scan an item's barcode to build up "kicks", which are points that can later be traded in for gift cards, or free downloads from iTunes. The rewards program is already used by other retailers including CVS, Old Navy and Best Buy, and the app is free to download.

Like any loyalty program, the more points you accumulate the higher the perk. For instance, 500 points or kicks will earn you a $2 Target gift card, $1,250 kicks will score you a $5 Starbucks gift card, and 8,750 kicks will get you a $15 Papa John's gift card or movie tickets from Fandango. Not life-changing perks, but still nice to get by simply doing a two-second phone scan.

But, does the fact that Target wants you to scan an item instead of buying it sound fishy at all? Well it should, because the main purpose of Target and other retailers for joining this program is to keep you in stores longer, and have you visit more frequently. Target figures if you're rewarded for simply coming to a store to scan, you may even purchase something on the spot. Call it retail-reverse-psychology.

Target joined Shopkick back in November of 2010, introducing the program in 242 of its stores, but now it's being rolled out to all of its 1,764 U.S. locations, making Target the largest retailer to partner with Shopkick.

"We’ve learned from our guests that they appreciate being rewarded for doing what they already love to do — shopping at Target," said Bonnie Gross, Target vice president of marketing and guest engagement, in a statement. "In our test launch, Target guests in seven cities had the opportunity to experience Shopkick at Target and we received rave reviews. Now guests nationwide can start earning valuable points just by shopping our stores."

A hallmark of many scams is the requirement that you pay in advance. Once the consumer pays, the service they expect is usually lacking.

However, advance payments are also built into the business model of many legitimate enterprises. But safeguards are supposed to be in place to make sure that, when the time comes, the consumer gets the service they pay for. When things go awry, the law steps in ... at least in theory.

For example, many health clubs are set up on the principal of upfront payments for memberships. But it something happens and the gym closes, most states require the clubs to make provisions for refunds.

Health club membership fees

In North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper has obtained a court order banning the owner of more than 20 Peak Fitness locations from operating a health club in the state for the next 12 years. He says owner Jeff Stec repeatedly violated a North Carolina law requiring health clubs to maintain sufficient funds to reimburse members if a club closes.

“Consumers who’ve paid for a gym membership deserve a refund if their health club expires before their membership does,” Cooper said. “That’s exactly why these bonds are required and why we keep pressing to make sure health clubs have them.”

Since 2006, Cooper’s office has received more than 700 complaints regarding Peak-related health clubs.

Pre-paid funerals

The funeral industry is another where there are often advance payments, particularly when a consumer decides to make and pay for their funeral arrangements while they are still living. The reasoning behind the “pre-need” arrangements is to spare family members from having to do it.

It's a well-intentioned policy but the funeral home must always set aside those funds for the expressed purpose. Sometimes they don't.

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw this week filed suit against a funeral home and its owner alleging that the funeral director had misappropriated funds belonging to at least sixteen consumers who paid in advance for funeral arrangements.

State law requires funeral providers to deposit all payments for preneed funeral contracts in special accounts for safekeeping until the consumer’s time of need and immediately report the purchase to the Attorney General’s office.

Money not set aside

McGraw initiated an investigation in February after a consumer called his office with concerns over her mother’s preneed contract. After confirming that the funeral director had never reported her transaction to the state, McGraw’s office discovered that the owner had simply spent the consumer’s money instead of depositing it in a special trust account as required by law.

The investigation then revealed 15 additional consumers whose funds were never deposited in special accounts. Instead, the funeral director had spent their preneed contract money on other, unknown purposes. As of now, McGraw says at least $61,990.00 is missing, and more consumers are expected to come forward.

"The trust we place in others to safeguard our pre-need funds must not be in vain," said McGraw. "My office will vigorously pursue anyone who violates that trust." 

Whenever consumers are asked to pay for anything in advance, the request should not be taken lightly. It is a good idea to ask questions about how the payment will be accounted for, and what safeguards are in place to make sure the services that are being paid for will actually be delivered.

Physicians, nutritionists and physical fitness trainers tend to agree – a diet rich in whole grain foods not only promotes fitness but overall good health.

But to bulk up on whole grains requires a little bit of knowledge and attention to detail while shopping.

Whole grain refers to the fact that all of the grain is ground up and used in the food. In the manufacturing process, grains are often “refined,” removing their outer layers and using only the starchy parts.

But many of the grain's nutrients are in the outer shells while the starchy interior contains significantly less of what's good for you. There's a big difference between whole wheat and white bread.

Examples

Examples of whole grain wheat products include 100 percent whole wheat bread, pasta, tortilla, and crackers. But most products on the grocery shelf aren't made with whole wheat, so you have to read labels carefully.

Wheat is just one of the whole grain foods. Other examples include rice, oats, cornmeal, barley. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of products made with these grains. 

Whole grains can also be healthy snacks. Popcorn, a whole grain, can be a healthy snack, depending on its preparation. Cooked in oil and coated with butter and salt, it can be as unhealthy as many other treats. But in its purest form, and air popped, it can be extremely healthy, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For your health

Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D. Mayo Clinic hypertension specialist, says a diet rich in whole grain foods might also be good for your blood pressure.

“Some research suggests that eating more whole-grain foods on a regular basis can help reduce your chance of developing high blood pressure,” Sheps writes on the Mayo Clinic website. “Whole-grain foods are a rich source of healthy nutrients, including fiber, potassium, magnesium and folate. Eating more whole-grain foods offers many health benefits that can work together to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure by aiding in weight control, increasing your intake of potassium, and decreasing your risk of insulin resistance.”

Whole grain foods promote weight control because calorie-for-calorie, they make you feel more full than food made with refined grains.

Read labels carefully

When shopping for whole grain products, you have to know what to look for on the label. Read the ingredients list and choose products that name a whole grain ingredient first on the list. Look for “whole wheat,” “brown rice,” “bulgur,” “buckwheat,” “oatmeal,” “whole-grain cornmeal,” “whole oats,” “whole rye,” or “wild rice.”

The color of a food is not an indication that it is a whole-grain food. Foods labeled as “multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100% wheat,” “cracked wheat,” “seven-grain,” or “bran” are usually not 100% whole-grain products, and may not contain any whole grain.

Diamond Pet Foods is expanding a recall to include its Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011 due to potential exposure to Salmonella. No illnesses have been reported.

The product was distributed in the following states:  Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Further distribution through other pet food channels may have occurred. 

Pet owners may call toll-free at 1-866-918-8756, Monday through Sunday, 8 am – 6 pm EST. 

The product is Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula. Only samples, 6 pound and 18 pound bag sizes are affected.

Production Code & Best Before Date            
DSL0801, 20-Oct.-2012 (Product manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011 and packaged on Oct. 20, 2011) DSL0801, 26-Aug-2012        
DSL0801, 27-Sept- 2012 (Product manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011 and packaged on Sept. 27, 2011)
DSL0801, 18-Oct- 2012 (Product manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011 and packaged on Oct. 18, 2011)
DSL0801, (Samples)

Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have 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, abdominal cramping and fever.

According to the U.S. 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.

For those homeowners and businesses who use rooftop solar paneling in California, good news: You have some financial credit coming to you.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted unanimously to increase the number of people who are able to take advantage of the state's "net energy metering" program. The program allows solar panel users to receive money off future utility bills, for cutting back on  California's energy demands. Net energy metering first began in the 1990s.

But some disagree with the net metering program, namely the state's three largest utility companies. They complain that while solar panel users will pay  less on their electricity bill, other consumers who don't use solar paneling will have to pay more, to maintain transmission lines and provide the upkeep of the city's electricity system.

"We're proud to be a strong supporter of solar," said Lynsey Paulo, spokeswoman for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. "At the same time, we really strongly believe that everyone needs to be concerned about this cost shift from solar customers to customers who can't afford it or choose not to go solar."

Utility companies also fear receiving less money each month, which they say could make it more of a challenge to hire and keep good utility workers.

Who would pay?

"If everyone was on net metering, who would pay for the grid that we have?" said Mike Florio, a representative of CPUC. "On the other hand, it would be problematic for [net metering] to come to an end and provide a major setback to the solar industry that has flourished in this state."

But many state officials champion the program, and consider it the perfect incentive for homeowners and businesses to continue using solar paneling, especially when costs run high to install the rooftop mechanism.

State commissioners recently changed the calculation of the metering program in order to include more people who are able to take advantage of the financial credit. The law now states it must offer the program to all solar energy users, until the amount of electricity the solar paneling creates, equals 5 percent of the "aggregrate customer peak demand."

"Today's decision ensures that the solar industry will continue to thrive for years to come, and we are fully committed to developing a long-term solution that secures the future of the industry in California," said Michael Peevey, president of the utilities commission.

While the net energy metering program is a certain win for solar users, it's a financial loss for those who can't afford the paneling. But does cutting back on California's energy demands supersede the importance of making sure some of its residents can afford rising bill costs? It's an extremely thin line for state officials to walk.

Europe may be a basket case at the moment, but consumers in the U.S. are feeling pretty good. The monthly Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers shows consumer confidence surged in May and is now at its highest point since October 2007.

More favorable job and wage prospects were the main factors behind the improved outlook, according to University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin.

"Consumer confidence was nearly as high in the past two years before the gains were reversed," Curtin said. "While gas prices and economic policy debates played a role in the pullbacks, changes in job expectations also had a critical impact.”

Many more consumers reported hearing about recent job gains than job losses—the fewest consumers reported hearing of job losses in May than anytime since mid 2007. In each of the past three months, a majority of consumers reported an improved economy and twice as many expected further improvement rather than renewed declines in the year ahead.

Better credit management

The fact that consumers have been paying down their credit card debt might have something to do with growing confidence. According to Equifax's May National Consumer Credit Trends Report, existing bank credit card balances as of April 2012 were 28 percent below their peak. Balances were $531 billion in April 2012 compared to slightly more than $730 billion in January 2009.

Meanwhile, consumers who want to make a credit purchase are finding it easier to do so.

"The combination of increased available credit and more timely payments among card borrowers has led to the recent growth in card lending," said Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews Cutts. "Consumers are starting to respond to increased credit availability both in cards and other tradelines, a signal of both their financial confidence and improving economic conditions. In turn, this increased consumer credit activity bodes well for U.S. economic growth through the second half of 2012."

After the start of the Great Recession, many consumers started thinning out the credit cards in their wallets. The report shows that from October 2007 to December 2010, card accounts fell by 22 percent.

Now that consumers have begun to feel more confidence, credit card accounts are growing again. Since December 2010 they have grown by 4.7 percent, now reaching 173 million accounts.

You do it for your travel plans, you also do it for clothes and food shopping, so why not use the Web for getting the best health care? Or to get the best prices for a medical procedure?

Many new companies are eager to get in on the act by bringing the convenience of shopping online to health care, according to a Bloomberg report.

With rising health care costs, and a growing number of general physicians and specialists offering services, many consumers are forced to play a guessing game when it comes to choosing the safest and most cost-efficient medical procedure and practitioner.

Castlight Health Inc., says it recognizes this consumer need and wants to provide an alternative way to seek out the best-priced physician and services, and match those prices with the best patient reviews.

Publishing patient reviews can get tricky, though, as many sites have learned. Many doctors and dentists feel strongly that no patient could possibly be competent to critique their services and are quick to slap suits on anyone who posts a negative review. In one extreme case, a Florida plastic surgeon filed suit in a Virginia court against an anonymous critic, using the argument that someone in Virginia might have read the review.   

"This is about changing the way people shop for health care, and as a consequence, changing the way care gets delivered," said Giovanni Colella, one of the co-founders of Castlight Health Inc.

True, but keep in mind that any physician who gets all positive reviews may have found a way to sue or buy his way to his sterling rating.

Healthcare shopping

Castlight is a company which specializes in health care shopping, similar to companies like Healthcare Blue Book. While Castlight typically works with those companies with self-insured health plans, Healthcare Blue Book mostly serves those consumers that pay cash for their medical services, due to not having insurance.

The United States currently has 49.9 million people lacking health insurance at the moment, and 16.3 percent of the population were uninsured in 2011, according to the Census Bureau. Low-income families, U.S. citizens ages 19 to 25, and foreign born U.S. citizens, make up the majority of the uninsured in the U.S., and many of them choose needed health care solely on price, which is a dangerous way to shop for medical care.

While Castlight charges a fee to both individuals and companies for its services, Healthcare Blue Book, owned by CareOperative LLC is free, and consumers can view prices based on their selected procedure or local area.

The way it works is, patients would speak to a doctor about recommended treatments of care, then go to the Blue Book website and compare prices based on that medical advice. The patients would then call the doctor back and negotiate medical prices based on their research.

If the doctor is unwilling to match prices, patients are encouraged by Blue Book to phone at least three other providers for services, while letting them know you're paying in cash. The company says this should only be done for non-urgent medical care.

Challenging process

However, many health care experts believe that unlike travel or clothes shopping, comparing medical prices can be an intricate process, making it more challenging for consumers to make an educated selection of doctor or pricing.

"This stuff is over everybody’s head," said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions in Washington State. "There's always going to be a certain group, we think it's about two percent, that will really act on this."

David Belk a California physician also agrees that window shopping for needed surgeries, tests, and medications can be a difficult task for most people, and may be outside of their everyday consumer knowledge.

"You know the difference between filet mignon and chuck steak, but you don’t know the difference between generic amlodipine and brand-name Norvasc," which is Pfizer Inc.’s blood pressure medication," he explained.

About 200 Stoneberry kitchen table sets are being recalled. The chairs can collapse during normal use, causing a fall hazard.

This recall involves three-piece oak table and chair sets. The table is square-shaped with four straight, rectangular legs. The chairs have a white padded cushion seat and a slatted backrest. Both the table and the wooden parts of the chairs are a light pine color. The set has the style number 404285 however this number does not appear anywhere on the set.

The kitchen table sets were sold through the Stoneberry catalog and website from January 2012 and March 2012 for about $160. They were made in China.

Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Stoneberry for instructions on returning the product for a full refund.

For more information, contact Stoneberry at (800) 704-5480 between 6 a.m. and midnight CT Monday through Friday, or visit Stoneberry's website at http://www.stoneberry.com. Stoneberry is contacting its customers directly.

Is it possible that obesity is the problem it is because American just don't know how to eat properly any longer?

It doesn't seem likely since children are supposed to learn about nutrition in school and government agencies have been offering guidance for decades. But the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s 2012 Food & Health Survey offers some intriguing results.

First, it found that most people think a great deal about the healthfulness of their diets and want to make improvements. Yet an overwhelming majority confessed to not really knowing what to eat to be healthy and maintain a healthy weight.

Confusing

Seventy-six percent said that ever-changing nutritional guidance makes it hard to know what to believe. And when it comes to making decisions about food, consumers today rely most often on their own research rather than third-party experts.

Six out of 10 Americans have given a lot of thought to the foods and beverages they consume and the amount of physical activity they get. Yet, only 20 percent say their diet is very healthful and 23 percent describe their diet as extremely or very unhealthful; less than 20 percent meet the national Physical Activity Guidelines.

“This year’s Survey was designed to reveal consumer behavior, not just thoughts and desires. Clearly, there is a disconnect for many Americans,” said Marianne Smith Edge, Senior Vice President, Nutrition and Food Safety, IFIC Foundation. “Some questions also reveal clear differences based on gender and age.

Gender differences

For example, men feel it is harder to eat a healthful diet than to find time to exercise, while women feel just the opposite. Older respondents tended to value a healthy diet while younger people did not.

The Survey found that 90 percent of Americans have given at least a little thought to the ingredients in their food and beverages. Consumers say they are trying to eat more whole grains, fiber and protein, while cutting calories, sugar, solid fats and salt.

However, 87 percent said the most important factor in the food they choose is taste, followed by price, which dropped significantly as a factor compared to 2011, and healthfulness. In terms of trying to lead healthier lives, nearly 60 percent of Americans believe that online and mobile tools are helpful.

While 55 percent of Americans said they are trying to lose weight, 23 percent of obese consumers and 44 percent of overweight consumers say they are not trying to lose weight.

Fewer than one in 10 U.S. consumers could correctly estimate the number of calories they need to maintain their weight and only three in 10 believe that all sources of calories play an equal role in weight gain.

A tough economy and an increasingly mobile, interconnected consumer universe has made daily deal websites like Groupon a hot commodity. Consumers like them and so do businesses.

But they may not be such a good deal for either consumers or businesses. For consumers,they may lead to more impulse buys.

"I would advise users to use discretion," said Esther Swilley, assistant professor of marketing at Kansas State University. "Make sure it's something you really need or want, and you're not just purchasing it because it's there and time is counting down."

Hard-to-move merchandise

Daily deal websites and flash sale websites often offer prices well below what would be seen in a retail store or through typical online shopping. Often its just a way for a store to dispose of merchandise no one wants. If you slap a discount on it with a quick expiration, it can create a sense of excitement, Swilley says.

Whether daily deals are really such great deals may be open to question, but consumers are still in love with the concept, according to a ConsumerAffairs computerized sentiment analysis of more than 1.9 million postings about Groupon on social media over the last year.

Businesses, on the other hand, are sometimes finding that participation on these discount programs doesn't bring them the desired results. Businesses offer a service or product at a discount in order to bring in new customers, with hopes that they will enjoy what they purchased and return for more.

"What's happening, though, is that people aren't coming back after that initial coupon use," she said. "They think, 'this was cheap the first time, I want it to be cheap again.' They're not really gaining a true customer but simply a one-time user who is deal-prone. Now retailers are reconsidering the value of web coupons."

The ConsumerAffairs analysis found little change in net sentiment for Groupon over the last year.

Flash sales

Daily deal sites are an updated version of newspaper coupons. Flash sale sites take it a step farther, taking advantage of the fact that people out shopping can access the web through their smartphones for an item that may be only on sale for a few hours.

MyHabit, one of the more upscale flash sale sites, though much smaller than Groupon, commands amazing loyalty from its members, with a net positive sentiment approaching 100% in a ConsumerAffairs analysis of about 12,000 consumer postings.

"Flash sale websites are often used as a marketing tool," Swilley said. "If a company has a new product coming out, they may want to see how the public feels about it. They use a flash sale to lower the price a bit so that a few people will buy it and get it out there. Then, when someone asks where you bought your shoes, they can go to the store and purchase them."

Flash sale websites, such as Gilt, often operate through email. Potential customers sign up to receive a list of daily deals, or visit the business's website, with the promise to receive a large discount if they purchase a product within a short period of time.

MyHabit and Google Offers

Well-known companies are now getting into the game. Amazon offers the high-end flash sale site MyHabit and Google created Google Offers, a daily deal site.

Consumers have been eager to take advantage of what may be perceived as a quick bargain -- these websites have created a billion-dollar industry. But Swilley warns would-be buyers to take a second look at what they're considering.

"You may see a pair of shoes that is marked down to $500 from $1,600," she said. "Yes, it's a discount, but would you have seriously considered an expensive pair of shoes if the picture wasn't in front of you?"

Purchasing an item from a time-limited website is only advisable if you search out the deal, not if the deal comes to you, Swilley said. She suggests using these websites to make travel plans or purchase high-end items -- but only if you were looking for them in the first place.

Swilley's advice is no doubt right on target, but MyHabit users seem to have no regrets about their purchases, as shown in this chart:

Southwest Airlines may need to stock up on salsa to supplement its peanuts and pretzels. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has thrown her support behind the discount carrier's plan to build a five-gate international facility at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport. Southwest is hoping to launch flights to Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean from Houston Hobby, a proposal that is giving newly-merged United-Continental a severe case of heartburn.   

Latin America is United's fastest-growing market and Southwest's entry would introduce the kind of price competition that generates turbulence in legacy carriers' executive suites.  

"Today is a great day for Southwest Airlines, a great day for the city of Houston, and a great day for Houston's international travelers who have suffered for far too long from high fares and limited options," said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman, President, and CEO. "I want to thank Mayor Parker for her support. There is still much work to do, but I believe our proposal shows that we are committed to bringing international service to Hobby, without the city taking on additional debt."

Southwest has agreed to spend $100 million to build the international facility at Hobby.  Although the mayor has now signed on, the plan must till be approved by the city council. Southwest has been lobbying the flying public as well as politicians and regulators, launching a publicity campaign and Web site titled www.freehobbyairport.com, where travelers can learn more and sign a petition supporting the carrier's plan.

United's argument

United, the world's largest airline by traffic, opposes the move, which it says would weaken Houston's larger airport, Bush Intercontinental. United claims a Southwest entry would kill jobs and hurt the local economy.

United currently dominates international traffic from Houston, with 88 daily fights to 54 destinations in Latin America, all from Bush Intercontinental. Southwest says it would operate 20 to 25 international flights daily from Hobby within eight years.

A study commissioned by the city's airport system found that new international flights would reduce the market's average fares by 55% and attract 1.5 million additional fliers a year, delivering a $1.6 billion impact and up to 18,000 jobs for the region. United calls those figures "grossly exaggerated," and concludes that competition from Southwest would force United to pull 50 daily flights to Latin America from Houston, resulting in a regional economic hit of $295 million and 3,700 jobs.

If it is shut out of Houston, Southwest will likely look to Austin or San Antonio as its Latin American gateway. A 33-year-old federal regulation bans it from flying internationally out of Dallas, where it has a large operation at Love Field.