Current Events in June 2012

Evenflo is recalling about 35,00 convertible high chairs. The activity tray on the high chair can unexpectedly detach and allow an unrestrained child to fall, posing a risk of injury to the child.

Evenflo has received 18 reports of trays that detached, including eight reports of children who fell from the high chair and sustained bumps and bruises.

This recall involves Evenflo high chairs that convert from a high chair to toddler-size table and chair. The convertible high chair can be identified by the model names and numbers listed below. Model numbers are located on a label on the lower portion of one of the high chair's legs.

Toys "R" Us and Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com and Wayfair.com between December 2011 and June 2012 for about $40. They were made in China.

Consumers with the recalled highchairs should immediately contact Evenflo for a replacement tray with installation and use instructions.

For additional information, please contact Evenflo at (800) 233-5921 between 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's website at http://safety.evenflo.com

Guess who's back in town?  It’s the door-to-door magazine sellers from out of state who appear on doorsteps claiming outrageously priced subscriptions will help fund “second chance” opportunities for inner city youth. They appear all over the country about this time each year and are about as welcome as a bumper crop of poison ivy.

In Washington State, the Attorney General’s Office has issued warnings about such visitors before, and is again alerting consumers to beware of these solicitors and think twice before buying their magazines.

The Attorney General’s Office has received numerous complaints from victimized consumers who paid $50 to $784 for magazine subscriptions purchased from door-to-door sellers.  Consumers say they were touched by the solicitors’ stories and believed their purchases would be for a good cause. Solicitors claim to be earning money for college, working toward a better job, receiving points for a free trip, or contributing proceeds to help homeless youth. 

“Unfortunately, another common theme is that time and again, consumers throughout the country never receive the magazines they purchased, or hear from the sellers again, and have no idea what happened to their money.” said Attorney General Rob McKenna.

"Fresh start"

Many of these solicitors claim to work for “business or job training” companies that send young adults door to door to give them a “fresh start” on life. 

In a recent complaint to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, one seller claimed to represent a company called “Strictly Business.” The consumer did his own checking and found the company was based in Texas. It had a Better Business Bureau rating of “F” for failing to respond to complaints and failing to deliver magazines. 

“Besides the potential of falling victim to fraud, there are many other risks involved, such as threats to personal safety or the possibility of being a victim of identity theft. It all makes buying items from strangers who knock on your door a bad idea,” added McKenna. 

Are you happy? If you're a bit less chipper than you were a year or two ago, don't feel bad -- you have plenty of company. So says a new study from AARP.

The study found that most Americans age 35+ are happy, but compared to historical General Social Survey (GSS) data, levels of happiness are on the decline and at their lowest levels (due in part to the economy), according to a new study released today by AARP.  

In an effort to find out what happiness means to adults and what it takes to thrive as they age, AARP surveyed more than 4,000 adults age 35+. The study  provides a unique view of today’s modern family with a robust understanding of happiness, how it changes over time and how age affects the drivers that enable people to thrive. 

“We’re always looking to get a more robust understanding of the contributors and barriers to happiness in people’s lives,” said Steve Cone, Executive Vice President of Integrated Value Strategy, AARP. “Building on previous AARP research, which shows the importance of happiness and peace of mind to 50+ families, these new results affirm that we are on the right track—advocating to ensure basic health and financial security and making available everyday discounts that let people enjoy time with family and friends.”  

The results of this study support the finding of a U-shape curve of happiness by age. The early 50s is the lowest point from which happiness builds. Thus, if you missed happiness in your 30's, there is still another chance to achieve it in your 60's. The results also provide four key insights around the drivers of happiness.

Findings

Overall, the strong majority (68%) of respondents report being happy, although intensity of happiness is somewhat tempered as the largest percent report being somewhat happy (49%) versus very happy (19%). Almost half of respondents feel they are just as happy as others (49%) and the rest tend to believe that they are happier than others (31%) as opposed to less happy than others (13%).

Part of this may be attributed to the perceptions of people being the masters of their own happiness destiny. There is noted concern for the happiness of the next generation. Less than half feel they will be as happy or more (45%). Most are either not sure (19%) or believe they will be less happy (35%).

Regardless of age, good relationships with friends, family, and even pets, were found to be universally important. Activities rooted firmly in relationships contributed most to happiness, the study found.

To access the complete study, visit www.aarp.org/happinessreport. 

Viruses and phishing scams are quickly moving to smartphones, meaning consumers have to exercise the same caution when they're mobile that they do at their desk.

When you get a text from a source that appears suspicious, the prudent thing to do is assume that it's a scam. These messages usually contain malware and viruses designed to infect your phone and steal personal information.

And because everyone likes something “free,” common examples include messages claiming you have "won" a gift card for Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Apple and other national retailers.

Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself:

• Do not click on links contained in unsolicited text messages
• Do not reply to unsolicited texts. Regardless if the text suggests you can end receipt by sending a "STOP" message, doing so only confirms the message was sent to a live phone and may result in unauthorized third party charges to your wireless statement. Learn more about third-party billing
• Contact your cell carrier. Most providers have specific instructions to report SMS (text) SPAM, block numbers and in some cases websites.
• Register all your phones, including wireless with the Do Not Call List. Text messages sent to phones on the Do Not Call list are in violation of the law and can be reported to either the Federal Trade Commission or Federal Communications Commission
• Discuss text scams with all members of your family who have cell phones
• Be wary of any messages, emails, texts, voice mails, etc. that claim you've won a prize out of the blue. If you didn't enter a contest, you didn't win
• Never give your credit card, Social Security or bank account numbers to claim "prizes," sign up for free trials or cover related shipping costs
• Check your bank, credit card and wireless phone statements on a regular basis to detect suspicious charges

The idea goes against all the latest data, both in the U.S. and around the world. The economy seems to be slowing down and job growth has slammed on the brakes.

But amid all those recent bleak headlines, there are stories that suggest just the opposite. There appears to be data that suggests hiring may be about to jump.

For example, The Conference Board Employment Trends Index(ETI) increased 0.29 percent in May to 108.34, up from the revised figure of 108.03 in April. The May figure is 7.6 percent higher than a year ago.

"While growth in employment has slowed significantly in recent months, the Employment Trends Index does not signal further slowing in the coming months," said Gad Levanon, Director of Macroeconomic Research at The Conference Board. "Employers have been very cautious in hiring in the past two months, but at the moment, economic activity in the U.S. is just strong enough to require a modestly growing workforce."

Then there's this: Northwestern Mutual is in the midst of its largest recruiting effort in its 155-year history. The company announced this week that its recruiting is up 20 percent to-date in 2012, which puts Northwestern Mutual on pace to hit its target of recruiting more than 5,000 financial professionals this year.

"We have a message for the best and the brightest out there," says Steven C. Mannebach, vice president – field growth and development at Northwestern Mutual.  "We're in strong growth mode."

More summer jobs

Even high school kids looking for summer jobs are in luck. The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says nearly 160,000 teenagers found jobs in May. That's more than double the number last year.

If you go back to 2010, just 6,000 teens found jobs in May, starting the worst summer for the youth job market since 1949.

Does that mean it's suddenly a favorable job market? Probably not. The global economic perils caused by Europe and May's very weak job growth numbers are very real.

But the indicators are now pointing in a positive direction, meaning jobs might be a little easier to find in the months ahead.

Microsoft, never shy about trumpeting its latest innovations whether real or just vaporware, has quietly changed its U.S. end user license agreement to forbid its customers from suing or joining in class action suits against the company.

The 14th Amendment guarantees everyone the right of due process, but when it's consumers against mighty corporations, that doesn't  mean very much.

In this and similar cases, companies have been modifying their end use license agreements -- commonly called the EULA -- to state that the consumer agrees to be bound by the conditions of the agreement.  And -- voila! -- one of those conditions is now that the consumer will not exercise the right to sue.

In other words, you still have the right. You just can't use it. What could be fairer? After all, no one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use Microsoft Word, right?

Not much notice

The notice, such as it was, of the change was slipped into a Microsoft blog just before the Memorial Day weekend, a favorite time for issuing notices that one hopes won't be noticed.

In the blog posting, Tim Fielden, assistant general counsel at Microsoft, describes the changes, which mandate arbitration for all customer claims and forbid class-action lawsuits as a precondition to using Microsoft's products. The mandatory arbitration clause of the EULA is binding and is not an option.

"You understand and acknowledge that by agreeing to binding arbitration, you are giving up the right to litigate (or participate in as a party or class member) all disputes in court before a judge or jury," the EULA states in clause 18.1.4.

The denial of consumers' rights already applies to XBOX products and is being extended to other Microsoft products, presumably as quickly as Fielden & Co. can crank out the new boilerplate.

"We will implement similar changes in user agreements for other products and services in the coming months as we roll out major licensing, hardware or software releases and updates," Fielden wrote.

Microsoft, of course, is not alone and, as usual, is not even out in front. Companies have been falling over themselves to unilaterally rewrite their contracts even since an infamous 2011 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the AT&T v. Concepcion case handed corporations the right to simply remove, demolish, diminish and destroy consumers' rights simply by inserting a few sentences in their contracts.

A contract is generally defined as an agreement between the two parties. But that cuts no ice in this case. The consumer simply has no input into the decision once deciding to buy the product or service -- commonly known as the "take it over leave it" option.

Not only is there no opportunity for negotiation or modification by the consumer, most EULAs are written to allow the corporation to unilaterally modify them, as Microsoft is doing, a rather unusual provision for what is supposedly an agreement between consenting parties.

Researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine say they have confirmed the high toxic activity of the chemical piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a so-called chemical “synergist” used to increase the potency of more than 700 insecticides, including many for home use.

Their study found that exposure to the chemical “may be the molecular basis for profound developmental defects in children exposed in utero to PBO.”

The researchers developed a laboratory screening system for detecting PBO and other neurotoxic chemicals and successfully tested it on more than 1,400 potential toxicants. Their study was published in the May 2012 edition of the journal Toxicological Sciences. 

Pregnant women steer clear

As more shopping moves online, retailers are still trying to figure out how to make online consumers feel satisfied. According to a survey by comScore Inc, 86 percent of consumers say they're satisfied with their online shopping experience but retailers can do a better job of improving their return and exchange policies.

The comScore survey drew from the past findings of a survey consisting of 3,100 U.S. online shoppers. The main goal of the survey was to determine why customers return certain items bought online, what makes customers recommend online retailers to their peers, which shipping services they find the best, and exactly what retailers can do to improve the check-out process.

As returning items in a brick and mortar store has always been a sharp pain in the neck, returning online items can be even more painful. Over half (63 percent) of online shoppers educated themselves on the retailer's return policy before buying an item, and almost 50 percent of respondents said they would use a retailer more frequently if the return policy was more flexible. 

Satisfaction gap

Providing an easier exchange or return process is seemingly the benchmark issue for many online shoppers, even over pricing and variety. But it doesn't seem that retailers have yet come up with an effective way to fill this gaping hole in customer satisfaction.

"The Online Shopping Customer Experience Study provides retailers with the insights needed to enhance the post-purchase online shopping experience, focusing on the factors which lead to customer loyalty and growth," said Susan Kleinman, comScore director.

"While free shipping has tended to dominate the discussion regarding what provides satisfaction to online shoppers, the study shows there are several other factors critical to a positive online shopping experience. Retailers need a holistic understanding of these drivers if they hope to stimulate sales while maintaining healthy margins in this competitive retail environment."

Alan Gershenhorn, chief sales and marketing officer of UPS says online retailers should make strong efforts to improve its return policies, and by doing so, they will be able to to take away a good portion of customer interest from its competitors, especially during the Christmas season when exchanges and returns are at an all time yearly high.

"This is important intelligence that can be put to use immediately," he said. "Online retailers of any size can win more business during this year's holiday season if they prepare now to offer a better shopping experience."

Delivery times

The survey also showed that 42 percent of online shoppers said they cancelled their orders and closed online shopping carts, once they learned of delivery times. Two thirds of consumers select the cheapest shipping option, and over 40 percent expect to see their items delivered in two to three days.

In addition, 48 percent of online shoppers said they didn't want to wait over 5 days for their items, and a third of customers said they are willing to pay more for faster delivery.

Being able to track purchases were also of major importance to online consumers, and 46 percent said if their orders arrived when promised, they would be more than willing to recommend the retailer to a friend.

"UPS recognized some time ago that online customers are expecting speed, convenience and flexibility after they click to buy," said Gershenhorn. "That's why we've developed solutions such as the industry's broadest range of return options and UPS My Choice(SM) which lets consumers control the time and location of delivery."

American military men and women are still being victimized by predatory lending despite legislation that was supposed to put a halt to the most harmful practices.

A report from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) finds that the Military Lending Act (MLA) has reduced some forms of abusive credit but allows some equally harmful loans to flourish.  The MLA, enacted as part of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, delivered service member protections recommended by a 2006 Department of Defense study on the impact of predatory lending on military families and readiness. 

The law set a 36 percent inclusive rate cap on credit and banned loans secured by the service member’s bank account, vehicle or paycheck. 

Under rules adopted by the DoD, MLA protections apply to payday loans, car title loans, and tax refund anticipation loans, but not to military installment loans, rent-to-own transactions or retail sales financing.

“service members are safer today from predatory small loans due to the Military Lending Act,” stated Jean Ann Fox, CFA director of financial services. “The law’s protections should be extended to more forms of credit and loopholes must be closed to achieve the full protections intended by Congress to protect service members and their families.”

Report findings

The MLA has largely succeeded in curbing some abusive loans, the study found. It has reduced predatory payday, car title and tax refund lending to service members, to the extent that these products meet DoD definitions of what types of loans are covered by the law. 

State regulators, military charities, and financial counselors report a sharp drop in payday lending to covered service members.  Mapping of high-cost lenders around bases shows a reduction in the concentration of high-cost lenders around some military bases since enactment of the MLA. 

Service member requests for assistance from military charities due to debt trouble with covered loans have declined, but not disappeared. 

Refund anticipation loans are not being offered to service members as a result of the MLA and enforcement by bank regulators.  However, it appears that some car title lenders are still making loans to service members in violation of MLA protections, based on recent litigation.

Loopholes

But despite progress in some areas, the CFA found that predatory lenders are exploiting definitional loopholes in the MLA to offer abusive loans the DoD attempted to prohibit. 

Payday and car title lenders circumvent DoD definitions by making loans that are “open-ended” (without a fixed ending date) or longer-in-term than the DoD definitions of those products. 

For example, MilitaryFinancial.com charges 586% APR for their open-end version of a payday loan.  A 32 month-long car title loan in South Carolina cost a service member 400% APR.  If these loans were closed-end loans or for a shorter term, they would be prohibited by the MLA.

Some problematic credit products targeted at service members are not covered by DoD rules. Service members are still exposed to high interest rates and abusive practices by military installment lenders, retail installment sales companies, and rent-to-own firms.  CFA found examples of high finance charges, unfair contract terms, and mandatory payment by allotment of military pay that would be prohibited, if the DoD applied MLA protections to all the products that it expressed concern about in its 2006 Report.

Predatory banks

Service members are not protected from bank credit products that are similar to payday lending. DoD rules exclude several bank credit products that put service member ownership of bank accounts at risk and create a debt trap for consumers in the same way that payday lending does, including overdraft and direct-deposit advance loans. 

Over 90 percent of banks with branches on military bases allow or encourage service members to “opt-in” to overdraft loans for debit card transactions, charging service members up to $36 for a small overdraft loan that could be denied for no fee. 

A $100 overdraft repaid in two-weeks for $36 would cost almost 1,000% APR, if computed as a closed-end payday loan.  Three of the largest banks with direct deposit-advance loans that cost 365% APR for the typical 10-day term have branches on bases and make these payday loans available to service members with accounts.  Because bank direct deposit advances are structured as open-end credit, these payday loan products are not banned by the Military Lending Act.

DoD Inaction

Besides the more obvious loopholes, some MLA protections extended by Congress with bipartisan support have yet to be fully implemented. 

Congress prohibited loans secured by allotments, which are direct payments of debts made by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service before paychecks are deposited to service members’ bank accounts.  However, DoD has not defined as “consumer credit” the types of loans and credit sales typically repaid by allotments. 

Allotments put loan companies and retail creditors at the head of the line to be paid first out of service members’ wages and enable lenders to extend credit without fully determining ability-to-repay.  The CFA report notes that guaranteed payment via allotment encourages creditors to cluster around the gates of major military bases and offer credit with few questions asked.

The CFA said enforcement tools need to be strengthened to improve compliance with the law. It said the MLA should grant clear enforcement authority to all federal agencies that supervise and enforce federal laws that cover bank and non-bank financial service providers.  It should also allow civil penalties for MLA violations, which would encourage private enforcement of the law.  

The MLA was intended to ensure that non-resident service members stationed in states get the same credit protections as residents of the state.  The law should clarify that state protections apply to all forms of credit under state supervision, not just those defined by DoD.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken a lot of heat for his attempt to ban big sugary drinks but a recent poll finds huge majorities favor more, not less, information about calories.

Seventy percent of Americans favor having movie theaters list calories on menu boards and 68 percent favor having chain restaurants list calories for alcoholic beverages, according to a new poll released today by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The survey comes as the Obama Administration is putting the finishing touches on a regulation requiring calorie counts at chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments. To the dismay of many health groups, a draft of the rule released last year exempted alcoholic beverages, movie theaters, hotels, stadiums, and other venues that sell restaurant-type foods—even though the 2010 law that established calorie labeling included those venues.

According to the survey commissioned by CSPI, 77 percent of Americans want calorie labeling for the hot dogs, pizza slices, and burritos available at convenience stores, and 81 percent favor having supermarkets provide calorie information for their prepared restaurant-type foods, such as rotisserie chicken, sandwiches, and soups.

Loopholes

“Americans just want to know what they’re eating,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. “Menu labeling at chain restaurants will be enormously helpful. But it doesn’t make sense to create loopholes for certain companies, when that’s not what Congress intended and it’s not what people want.”

CSPI says—and the restaurant industry by and large agrees—that requiring calorie labeling at supermarkets, convenience stores, and movie theaters promotes a level playing field.

“We believe the Proposed Rule arbitrarily and unjustifiably excludes establishments that are not only similar to, but actually function as, restaurants, and that have publicly announced their intention to offer restaurant-type food,” the National Restaurant Association wrote in its comments to the Food and Drug Administration.

“If McDonald’s is providing calorie counts for its sodas, why shouldn’t 7-11 or Regal Cinemas?” Wootan asks. “If Cracker Barrel has to list calories for its salad bar items, why shouldn’t Whole Foods or Safeway?”

When you join a gym or fitness club, you have every expectation of the facility staying open, or at the very least, cancelling your membership if it closes.

What's less clear is how far you can be expected to travel to visit another facility when the one nearest you shuts down.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has sued several Chicago-area World Gym franchises and an associated payment processing company, saying they billed consumers at least $100,000 for membership dues and fees for several months after the fitness centers closed down.

Phil, of Naperville, Ill., is one of those members.

“I showed up for my work out one morning and the doors were locked as the gym has closed down,” Phil wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “They also stated that another World Gym location would be honoring our memberships. The problem is that this gym is too far away located in a different city in the suburbs.”

Closed without notice

The lawsuit alleges World Gym-Willowbrook Inc. and its owners James Mecha and Diane Vassolo closed several World Gym franchises in suburban Chicago without notice. The lawsuit also names ASF International, a Colorado corporation that processed gym payments, alleging that with its help, the gyms continued to bill and collect membership dues and fees despite the closures and members’ efforts to cancel their contracts.

According to the complaint, the facilities closed their doors suddenly and without warning in the summer of 2011. The affected gyms were located at 12337 S. Route 59, Plainfield, 264-268 S. Randall Rd., Elgin, and 4212 N. Harlem Ave., Norridge.

The company subsequently directed consumers to other gyms owned by the defendants located as far as 22 miles away, in Montgomery or Des Plaines, and continued to bill them for memberships.

“Gym closed several months ago. We have contacted several locations and tried several Internet sites in an attempt to cancel our membership,” Marie, of Plainfield, Ill., posted to ConsumerAffairs last September. “Our account has been sent to a collection agency, and the amount is growing.”

Resistance to cancellation

Madigan says gym members who attempted to cancel their contracts met resistance – receiving no response to requests to cancel, being provided false contact information to cancel and told they could not cancel until they paid additional fees. The suit says nearly 150 customers had their accounts sent to a collection agency over fees incurred after the gyms closed.

“These gym owners closed their World Gym facilities then had the audacity to charge people over $100,000 in membership dues and fees after the gyms were closed,” Madigan said. “The owners also refused to cancel contracts, and when people stopped paying, sent their accounts to a collection agency, again, all after the workout facilities abruptly closed.”

The lawsuit asks the court to ban the gym franchisees from owning or operating a fitness center or a business that accepts electronic payments from consumers in Illinois. Madigan’s suit also seeks restitution for impacted consumers and civil penalties.

Scientists at the Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) have released their fourth annual Atlantic hurricane season forecast, using a computer model that in the past has been very accurate.

Hurricane season began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.

This year’s forecast calls for a 70 percent probability of 10 to 16 named storms and five to nine hurricanes. The mean forecast is for 13 named storms, seven hurricanes, and an average accumulated cyclone energy — a measure of the strength and duration of storms — of 122.

Based on 51 forecasts

These numbers are based on 51 individual seasonal forecasts conducted since May 25, 2012, using sea surface temperatures predicted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The forecast mean numbers are very close to the 1995-2010 average of 14 named storms and eight hurricanes, and reflect the possible emergence of El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific and cooling surface water temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic.

The 2011 hurricane season produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including four major hurricanes.

Uncertainty

“There is still uncertainty in the magnitude and timing of the emergence of the warming waters in the tropical Pacific along with the cooling of the tropical North Atlantic waters,” said lead scientist Timothy LaRow. “These factors combined will to a large extent dictate the level of tropical activity.”

LaRow and his colleagues at COAPS use a numerical climate model developed at Florida State to understand seasonal predictability of hurricane activity.

LaRow says the COAPS forecast is already gaining recognition for its accuracy only three years after its launch. The 2009 forecast predicted eight named storms and four hurricanes, and there ended up being nine named storms and three hurricanes that year.

The 2010 forecast predicted 17 named storms and 10 hurricanes, and there were actually 19 named storms and 12 hurricanes. The 2011 forecast predicted an average of 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, and there were actually 19 named storms and seven hurricanes.  

Despite their name, carpenter bees are not handy with a hammer. They can be a destructive force to your home and its wood structures.

Carpenter bees get their name because they excavate galleries in wood to create their nests. They don't eat wood – they're much like other bees in that they consume pollen and nectar. In fact, carpenter bees are important pollinators of flowers and trees, so in that regard they are beneficial.

It's only when they decide to build nests in your fence, deck or the siding of your house that they make a nuisance of themselves. They can cause considerable wood damage if several generations begin making themselves at home.

Big and slow

Carpenter bees are usually large and slow-flying. The most common type is about three-fourths to one-inch long, black, with a shiny surface. The underside is covered with splashes of bright yellow, orange, or white, and the upper side of the abdomen is black, glossy, and bare. Carpenter bees have a dense brush of hairs on the hind legs.

They are often mistaken for bumble bees, except bumble bees have a yellow abdomen and large pollen baskets on the hind legs. Various species of bumble bees and carpenter bees are similar in size. Bumble bees are very unlikely to nest in wood.

Carpenter bees cause mostly cosmetic damage, by drilling round holes into the wood. Over time extended infestation can cause structural damage, but it is fairly rare. However, tunnels in the wood can be several feet in length.

Prevention

The best way to keep carpenter bees away is to paint wood surfaces with a polyurethane or oil-base paint. Every once in a while inspect painted surfaces to make sure the coating is intact. It's exposed wood that the carpenter bee targets.

In addition to exposed wood, carpenter bees prefer soft woods, like pine. That means an untreated, or weathered deck can be a prime target. Unfortunately, wood stains will not deter carpenter bees. They'll simply drill right through it.

When you find holes in your wood surfaces, fill them with caulk. If the bees are inside, they won't try to drill their way out.

Quick, how many pounds of air are supposed to be in the tires on your car? If that information isn't at the top of your mind, you aren't alone.

A survey by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), the national trade association for tire manufacturers, shows only about one in six vehicles have four properly inflated tires and only 15 percent of drivers know how to properly check tire pressure.

Why is that an issue? Under-inflated tires are a safety risk, causing tires to wear out faster. They also waste gasoline.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that under-inflated tires contribute to more than 600 fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that under-inflated tires wastes more than 1 billion gallons of gasoline annually.

"America needs inflation," said RMA President and CEO Charles Cannon. "In just five minutes every month, motorists can ensure that their tires are properly inflated which promotes safety, better fuel economy and helps prevent premature wear."

Tire pressure tips

Check tire pressure monthly and before long trips. Use the vehicle manufacturer's recommended inflation pressure. This information is found on a label on the driver's side door post or motorists can check their owner's manual.

Check tires when cold, before driving. Otherwise, tires become warm when driven which increases tire pressure and the reading is not accurate.

A phone survey of 1,000 U.S. drivers, sponsored by RMA, found that 62 percent of drivers don't know where to find the correct inflation pressure for their vehicle's tires and 43 percent don't know that tires should be checked “cold,” before driving.

The survey found that, while 60 percent of motorists wash their vehicles once a month, only 15 percent check tire pressure that often.

It's no big secret that consumers love their credit cards. In fact, newly issued bank cards went up by nearly 37 percent in February 2012, according to Equifax.

Financial experts also say that 40 percent of Americans don't consider themselves to be financially literate, which can lead consumers to getting credit cards with poor rates, low credit scores, and a host of personal finance problems.

"Before the Credit CARD Act, 100 percent of the cards we looked at included practices regulators found to be harmful or unfair," said Nick Bourke, director of the Pew research group’s Safe Credit Cards Project. "The [credit] market really wasn't working. It was much more difficult for consumers to identify a good card from a bad one."

The report outlines that most credit card agreements aren't fully understood by the average American consumer, as statements are written at a 12th-grade reading level, and the average American's reading level stops at at ninth grade. This makes it difficult for many consumers to make the best choice in selecting a card, and makes it even harder to choose a card based on personal need.

According to the 2012 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, 42 percent of Americans gave themselves a failing grade when asked to score themselves on how well they understood the area of finance. Additionally, the National Endowment for Financial Education asked teachers if they felt knowledgeable enough to teach personal finance to students, and add it to their curriculum. Nearly 20 percent sent they didn't.

So where can consumers go to learn about personal finance outside of a college classroom? Financial classes aren't something that's normally marketed to the consumer, and many times it's far easier to get a credit card than it is to receive a proper tutorial on them. Also, many credit card companies make great deals of money from the financially ignorant, so why bother to educate?

According to the three U.S. credit bureaus, 1 in 5 consumers have poor credit, and TransUnion says the average debt per cardholder came to $4,962 at the end of 2012's first quarter.

Financial experts also believe that an overload of financial information makes it extremely hard for the average American to make a balanced choice on a good credit card. Plus, being overwhelmed by constant offers from banks, retailers and telemarketers, could make the consumer quickly make the wrong card selection, just to remove that feeling of bombardment.

"Not everyone has the same needs so being able to compare features and benefits of multiple cards side by side can really help consumers find the cards that best suit their individual needs," said Stephanie Cobb, Business Developer for Credit Card Select. "Our Credit Card Comparison Tool allows consumers to add their favorite cards to a compare bin or shopping cart so they can easily come back to them later and compare their favorites side by side."

Credit Card Select went on to say that consumers should really understand the differences in each card and offer, and carefully choose a card that best suits their credit range, among other personal needs.

Consumers can better educate themselves by learning about credit laws, and by reading up on the Credit Card Act, that was passed by the United States Congress in 2009. The Credit Card Act has many provisions in place that deal with limiting how credit card companies can charge consumers.

In recent years food manufacturers have employed popular cartoon characters as mascots and emblems to help capture children's attention. It's proved to be very effective.

So much so that many children's health advocates have attacked the practice, saying it can encourage unhealthy eating habits and can make turning the childhood obesity tide that much harder.

But those with very long memories may recall when a cartoon character promoted healthy eating: Popeye the Sailor. In each episode, Popeye - on the verge of being bested by his arch nemesis Bluto - rallied to save the day by quickly eating a can of spinach.

Children everywhere who might ordinarily turn up their nose at the leafy vegetable ate it gladly when it was served them, mainly because it was what Popeye ate. Health researchers at Cornell say updating that concept for today's children can have similar results and help promote a healthier diet.

While today's children probably haven't a clue who Popeye is, they instantly recognize characters like Batman, who the researchers say could be utilized as an effective role model.

What would Batman eat?

“Fast food patronage is a frequent reality for many children and their parents. Simply instructing a parent to order healthier food for a child is neither empowering for a child nor easy for a parent,” said Brian Wansink, Cornell professor of marketing, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and study co-author. “Advising parents to ask their child, ‘What would Batman eat?’ might be a realistic step to take in what could be a healthier fast-food world.”

The findings appear in the paper, “What would Batman eat? Priming children to make healthier fast food choices,” which is published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

Wansink, along with his team, conducted a study in which 22 children, ages six to 12, at a summer camp were asked if they wanted apple fries or French fries during several consecutive Wednesday lunches.

Fully 45 percent of the children selected apple fries after being shown pictures of superheroes and other role models, compared to the 9 percent who chose apple fries with no superhero prompts.

“On average, children who selected apple fries consumed only 34 calories whereas children who selected French fries consumed 227 calories. That’s almost seven times as many calories just from the side dish of the meal,” Wansink said. “If you eat fast food once a week, a small switch from French fries to apple fries could save your children almost three pounds of weight a year.”

Popeye the Sailor was a Depression-era cartoon strip adapted for the screen in the 1930s. Between 1931 and 1936, after the cartoon started playing in movie theaters, U.S. spinach consumption rose by 33 percent.

If you happen to be in the market for a new vehicle this summer, chances are good car companies will try to entice you with additional incentives.

After incentives, like cash rebates and cut-rate financing, almost dried up in April, they appear to be ratcheting up as all signs point to an economic slowdown.

According to Edmunds.com's True Cost of Incentive (TCISM), the auto industry spent $2,135 per vehicle in May, up 3.9 percent from April, and up 0.6 percent from May 2011.

"It's likely that incentives will continue a slow but steady rise in the coming months," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "There will be bigger discounts available on 2012 models through the summer to help dealers clear the way for incoming 2013 models. In fact, 2013 models already account for about 6.5 percent of new car sales."

Biggest discounts

In May, Ford was particularly active on the incentive front. It increased incentive spending 9.3 percent over April. Nissan followed behind with a month-over-month incentives increase of 9.0 percent. Automotive analysts say that both increases are corrective measures after both automakers slashed incentive spending in April and suffered hits to their market shares seemingly as a result.

Among brands, Chevrolet had the biggest discounts in May, offering an average of 10.7 percent off MSRP compared to 11.0 percent in April. One brand that stood out in May for stepping back its discounts was Mazda. In April, the Japanese automaker offered the fourth highest discount of any automotive brand. But in May, Mazda fell to the 12th spot with average discounts at just 7.2 percent off MSRP.

Automotive incentives programs include promotional interest rates and lease programs, as well as cash rebates to consumers and dealers.  

Retailers using social media networks to snag new customers is nothing new, and sites like Facebook and Twitter have have led the way in linking consumers and retailers together for the past several years.

But, according to the 2012 Social and Mobile Commerce Study, conducted by Shop.org, The Partnering Group and comScore, the online pin board Pinterest has become the main go-to for consumers to find out what's new and trendy in the retail world.

"Pinterest has given retailers another channel to ‘listen’ to and interact with both existing and new customers, telling an ongoing visual story through images of their products and their brand ‘spirit,' a story that customers can then tell again to their friends and family members," said Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell, in a statement.

A ConsumerAffairs computerized sentiment analysis of more than 2.2 million postings on social media over the last year support the Shop.org findings. Our analysis found consumers holding unusually enthusiastic views about Pinterest.

 Consumer sentiment has been around the 80% positive level for the past year, holding steady even as the site has gained many millions more users.

Facebook, on the other hand, has experienced a steady decline in consumer sentiment, falling from the mid-30% area to nearly zero following its bungled IPO, according to a ConsumerAffairs analysis of more than 87 million postings over the last year.

Facebook users also display a vaster range of negative emotions than do Pinterest addicts.

The report shows that U.S. consumers follow an average of 9.3 retail companies on the Pinterest site, compared to an average of 6.9 retailers they follow on Facebook, and 8.5 retailers they follow on Twitter.

It was also shown that nearly two out of five (38 percent) consumers that shop online, follow retailers through one or more social networking sites, with YouTube and Facebook being the sites that consumers spend most of their social actvity on.

Additionally, seven in 10 (70 percent) of consumers who follow a blog of a retailer will also click on to its website. The report also outlined that over two-thirds (68 percent) of consumers use YouTube to browse and research retail companies.

Bargains

As for what initially leads a consumer to a retailer's website, bargains are still the main draw for online shoppers, but not as much as before. In 2012, 51 percent said they follow a retailer to get information on deals and coupons, which is down from 58 percent in 2011. Four in 10 (43 percent) said they research product information, and 36 percent desire to post or read comments about merchandise or services.

In addition, three in 10 consumers who track retailers through social media say they are searching for information on specific events (34 percent), current trends and ideas (31 percent), or photos and videos (30 percent), like "how-to's" and styling advice from experts (27 percent).

"Retailers have done a commendable job embracing social media – engaging their customers where it makes sense while keeping their brand relevant, interesting, appealing and exciting on each platform," said Cantrell.

Oil prices continued to fall on world markets this week, adding weight to gasoline prices that began the summer driving season moving lower, not higher.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.611 per gallon, down from $3.666 last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. Fuel prices are more than 20 cents a gallon lower than they were a month ago.

The average price of diesel fuel today is $3.930 per gallon, down from $3.964 a week ago.

The gulf between benchmark Brent crude and the oil produced in the United States remains in place, but the price of both breached important psychological price levels. In early Friday trading in Europe, Brent fell below $100 a barrel. Earlier this week the price of West Texas Intermediate dropped below $90 and kept going.

The price differential between the two is partially responsible for higher gasoline prices in some states than others, since many states receive fuel from refineries that purchase Brent. Once again this week, states with the highest fuel prices tend to be in the northwest corner of the U.S. States with the lowest prices are in the Southeast.

California, which for weeks had the third highest prices in the country, behind Hawaii and Alaska, dropped two places to fifth as Washington and Oregon this week have a higher average price.

The states with the highest gas prices this week are:

• Hawaii ($4.526)
• Alaska ($4.542)
• Washington State ($4.289)
• Oregon ($4.272)
• California ($4.259)
• Nevada ($3.921)
• Connecticut ($3.889)
• New York ($3.872)
• Idaho ($3.815)
• Illinois ($3.795)

 The states with the lowest gas prices this week are:

• South Carolina ($3.232)
• Alabama ($3.294)
• Tennessee ($3.305)
• Mississippi ($3.305)
• Arkansas ($3.317)
• Missouri ($3.326)
• Oklahoma ($3.367)
• Louisiana ($3.376)
• Georgia($3.386)
• Kansas ($3.407)