Current Events in November 2013

Fossil Fuel Products is recalling lots QL110714A102 (20-count bottles) and QL110408B046 (single blister packs) of “RezzRX.”

The products have been found to contain hydroxylthiohomosildenafil and amionotadalafil which are active ingredients of FDA approved drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED), making “RezzRX” an unapproved new drug.

The company says it has received no reports of adverse events related to this recall.

The product is marketed as a natural supplement for sexual enhancement and is packaged in single blister retail cards containing 1 yellow capsule and 20-count white bottles containing 20 yellow capsules. The affected RezzRX lots include the following lot numbers and expiration dates [QL110714A102 Exp 11/2013 and QL110408B046 Exp 06/2015]. RezzRX was distributed nationwide through various websites and retail stores in Georgia.

Consumers/distributors/retailers that have recalled product should stop using it and return it to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Fossil Fuel Products at 1-877-773-9979 or by email at info@rezzrx.com, Monday-Friday, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm, EST.  

The holiday season means parties and special meals with family and friends, where the wine and spirits flow freely. Sometimes a little too freely.

A new survey finds that many people are not aware of what high-risk alcohol consumption looks like. Not only do they not recognize it in those around them, they don't recognize it in themselves.

"Alcohol is still the number one cause of damaging behavior at holiday celebrations throughout the U.S.," said Dr. Harris Stratyner, Regional Clinical Vice President of Caron Treatment Centers in New York, which commissioned the survey. "We tend to see an increase in alcohol abuse during the holidays and the findings show that many people have no sense of how much alcohol is healthy to consume or how it impairs them when they go past that low-risk limit. It's a serious public safety concern when 60% of adults who attend holiday parties witnessed dangerous and even illegal behavior."

Low-risk drinking

To recognize high-risk drinking it might be helpful to start with what constitutes low-risk drinking. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) sets the boundary of low-risk consumption as no more than four drinks per day for men and no more than three drinks per day for women.

However, drinking at that pace on a daily basis would clearly place you in high-risk territory. The NIAAA says men should limit themselves to no more than 14 drinks per week and women should have no more than seven drinks in that time.

It goes without saying that holiday parties and gatherings can be enjoyable without alcohol consumption but many find a drink or two adds to the spirit of the occasion. And if you are inclined to over-indulge, the holidays just seem to bring that out.

The survey found that 60% of those who attended office holiday parties have seen someone under the influence of alcohol behave inappropriately. Inappropriate or embarrassing behavior included an intoxicated male colleague who "slapped a female co-worker on her bottom" and another who "threw up on the boss."

Families that drink together...

Even family gatherings – perhaps especially family gatherings – can be marred by too much alcohol. Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported attending a family holiday function where a family member behaved inappropriately after drinking too much alcohol. The inappropriate behavior included "a knock out drag out fist fight," though most of the abusive behavior detailed in the survey was verbal.

While recognizing high-risk drinking in your own behavior is very important, it is increasingly important to recognize it in others if you are the host of a holiday party, whether its an office party or a private affair with family and friends.

If you are the host and someone leaves your home in an intoxicated state and gets into an accident, you could be legally exposed. To steer clear of trouble, legal experts suggest providing plenty of filling food and non-alcoholic beverages at the gathering. Have a designated bartender – don't let guests serve themselves. Stop serving alcohol well before the party ends and be ready to arrange transportation home for a guest who gets tipsy.

Dangers of an office party

The liability risks may be greater for a business hosting an office party. The best way to avoid exposure is to not serve alcohol. However, if you are serving liquor, limit consumption.

One way to do that is to provide attendees with two tickets each for drinks. Avoid serving up alcohol-laced punch, since some people may gulp it down without realizing how much alcohol they're consuming.

Some companies make a point of holding office holiday parties off-site, getting it completely out of the business environment. Some companies have even provided taxi vouchers to pay for cab ride homes, but legal experts caution you should take no steps that could be seen as encouraging alcohol consumption.

Whether it is a business or private function, those who treat alcohol addiction want attendees and hosts both to be mindful of keeping their alcohol use in check. Because if there is a problem with alcohol, it almost always shows itself during the holidays.

"We want to help individuals and families change their perception about what healthy alcohol consumption actually looks like and empower them to seek help for substance abuse," said Paul Hokemeyer, Senior Clinical Advisor at Caron.

Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) is recalling 979 model year 2012-2013 Tacoma vehicles equipped with 18" Maverick Alloy Wheels.

In the recalled vehicles, the spare tire requires the use of a different style of lug nut to attach it to the vehicle than the other wheels use. These lug nuts were not provided with the vehicle. If the spare tire/wheel is installed on the vehicle using the lug nuts from another wheel, damage to the wheel could result and may eventually lead to a loose wheel, increasing the risk of a crash.

SET will notify owners, and dealers will: (a) Install a Warning Label on the spare tire/wheel, (b) supply a bag containing proper spare wheel lug nuts, and (c) place an Owner's Manual Addendum in the vehicle's glove box. The recall is expected to begin in November 2013.

Owners may contact SET at 1-954-429-2000.

Increasingly holiday shoppers just reach for a gift card rather than select a traditional gift item. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) more than 80% of shoppers plan to buy at least one gift card this holiday season, thus simplying their shopping for at least one recipient. 

But if you think that gets you completely off the hook when it comes to making decisions, you've got another think coming. All gift cards are not alike and choosing carefully, and with a little thought, could make your gift be even more appreciated.

What kind of card?

First, you have to decide whether you want to give a specific or general purpose gift card. If the recipient likes shopping at a particular retailer, then maybe a card good at that store would be a little more personal. An avid angler might appreciate a gift card for a sporting goods retailer specializing in fishing gear.

A general purchase card, on the other hand, is more flexible. It can be used almost anywhere and for almost anything. If you really don't know the recipient that well – their likes and dislikes – that could be the way to go. But on the impersonal scale, a general purpose card is near the top. It's the next thing to giving the recipent cash.

Value erosion

However, fees are another consideration since they can easily erode your gift. Your gift of $50, for example, is worth less by the time the recipient has made a purchase.

Fees, it seems, are another good reason to choose a brand-specific card over a general purpose one. New research by Bankrate.com found onlyone in nine brand-specific gift cards charge purchase fees, compared to 100% of general-purpose gift cards.

The researchers looked at 55 widely-held brand-specific cards that include retailers, restaurants, airlines and gas stations. It found only three charge a purchase fee to all customers, and three others charge a purchase fee in some cases.

Compare that to the seven general-purpose cards in the survey from American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. They all charge purchase fees. That leaves the gift-giver with an unanticipated decision to make.

Fees to be aware of

"While most Americans prefer to receive general-purpose gift cards because they can be used almost anywhere, they should be aware of the fees these cards charge both purchasers and recipients," said Janna Herron, credit card analyst, Bankrate.com. "For example, all of the general-purpose cards that we surveyed charge the purchaser up to $6.95, and 71% charge dormancy or maintenance fees to the recipient. None of the brand-specific cards charge dormancy or maintenance fees."

The NRF survey shows that gift cards have been the most popular gift choice over the last five years. And many consumers now actually prefer to get a gift card, finding nothing impersonal about it. College students and other young adults, for example, look forward to gift cards because their tastes are so specific and probably very different from the gift-giver's.

The Bankrate survey found that just over half of Americans – 53% – now prefer general-purpose gift cards. Drill down a bit deeper and you find that two-thirds of people who make more than $75,000 a year prefer general-purpose gift cards.

Consumer protections

Gift Cards are a safer gift than they once were. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, passed in 2009, provides that gift cards cannot expire within five years from the date they were activated and generally limits inactivity fee on gift cards except in certain circumstances, such as if there has been no transaction for at least 12 months. In addition, the Bankrate survey found 69% of gift card issuers will replace the card and/or funds in the event of loss or theft.

That still leaves you with one final decision – how much to put on the gift card? If it helps, the Bankrate survey found that between $25 and $50 is the most common amount.

A well-known proverb states that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. As a corollary, a machine is only as reliable as its weakest part. And based on the flood of almost-identical reader complaints we’ve read lately, it appears that too many recent-model KitchenAid dishwashers have a disturbing tendency to stop working for lack of one extremely small (though expensive and difficult to replace) part.

We wrote KitchenAid to ask if they were aware of this problem, and if they respond we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, check out this sampling of disturbingly similar-sounding unsolicited complaints we’ve received just since the beginning of this month.

Most customers complained of one or more broken wheels rendering one or both of their dishwashers’ racks useless. Michel S of Ontario wrote us on Nov. 11 to say this about his model KUDS301XBL1: “My dishwasher is 1 1/2 yrs old and had electronic problems, wheel broken in both trays, and now it leaks from the door.”  

Two days later, Rita C. from Rochester, Neb., complained of “broken wheels on upper rack after one year of use … with normal use, first one, then a second and a third wheel has come off the top rack, rendering the rack unable to be moved. We took it out and are using only the bottom rack. We are waiting for this to be fixed. It is unacceptable that the plastic pieces that hold the wheels in place have broken already, exactly 13 months after purchase. Our previous dishwasher lasted more than 15 years and the only reason we replaced it was because we updated our kitchen.”

At least Rita can still use the dishwasher’s bottom rack. Kathryn D. of Gladwin, Mich., who wrote us on Nov. 5, says she can’t even do that much. She bought her dishwasher in March 2011 and “chose the KitchenAid brand and paid a slightly higher amount, as I was told they are well built and work better than any other brand on the market, and because I thought they would stand by their product. In December 2012 the upper rack adjuster broke because it is made of plastic and the dishwasher has the lift higher feature, that is used quite a bit. I contacted customer service and they said the part was out of stock and finally, in late January, I received the replacement part. Last week it broke again, same place, so I contacted customer service again and I asked them if anyone else has this issue and I was told they could not discuss this with me but there is no recall.”

$40 plus shipping

Kathryn can’t get another replacement part unless she pays $40 plus shipping, and concluded, “I am so angry right now. I have a dishwasher that is useless; without the top rack in, the upper spray unit will not work.”

Peter D. of Bethlehem, Penn. posted a similar complaint on Nov. 16: “Wheels holding the upper rack have broken on both sides.” He elaborated: “We are over 50 years old and careful with our appliances...cannot believe that this defect is not corrected free of charge... First wheel broke on [right] side after about 10 months of use …  Second on left side broke after about 13 mo. of use. Kitchenaid Dishwasher Model KUDS 30 FXPA 4. Part number 10350375. Part sent to me recently...not that easy to install...still trying.”

Nor is Jon E. of Prescott, Ariz., getting any use from his KitchenAid dishwasher. He wrote us on Nov. 1 to say, “My KitchenAid dishwasher experienced failure of the detergent dispenser. I obtained a replacement part. To access the failed part for replacement, one first removes the front panel from the door ….”

Insulation melted

Jon went on to describe a procedure complicated enough that someone who is not “handy” probably would’ve needed to hire a repairman, just to install that small replacement part. Unfortunately, after accessing the inside of the dishwasher panel, he discovered that the foam lining/insulation had melted. “The foam has welded itself onto the inner panel rubber liner, preventing the front panel from being removed without destroying the foam insert. This is a critical part, dampening noise, keeping the cycle heat inside the washer, and stiffening and bracing the panel. Whirlpool has discontinued this part and it no longer is available. Their only advice is to locate one form an independent parts supplier who might have an old one in stock.”

Jon had no luck in that regard. But, how old is his dishwasher? If he’d bought it 15 or more years ago, after all, you could say he had a pretty good run. “This dishwasher is around eight years old.”

Oh. Whoops. Jon concluded, “I would expect Whirlpool to support it for at least ten years. I will not be purchasing any more appliances made or sold or (not) supported by Whirlpool [or KitchenAid].”

A horrible stench

Of all the KitchenAid dishwasher owners we’ve heard from this month, Joan W. of Schnecksville, Penn., is probably the best off, by which we mean both racks of her dishwasher still work. The problem is the horrible stench emanating from the dishwasher anytime she tires to use it. When she wrote us on Nov. 17 to complain about her KitchenAid model KUDS35FXSS8, she said: “When the door is open, the dishwasher has a "swampy" smell since purchase. It was reported to company several times with repair service deployed twice; both times they assessed drainage, suggested changing cleaning agent, using pro scrub option, water neutralizing agent, etc. with no resolution of problem. On last call to manufacturer they acted like they had never heard of this problem before and were very rude in communicating that there was nothing else they could do … I would strongly suggest not purchasing this product due to inability to resolve AND poor customer experience.”

Joan said she “would like to hear from others who have had same problem, so I can document the enormity of the problem and provide to consumer protection group.” Unfortunately for Joan, we don’t actually know of anyone else with her exact same problem — “My KitchenAid dishwasher works, but it stinks.” We only know of several customers complaining of the problem “My KitchenAid dishwasher won’t work at all.”

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On Nov. 22 -- a few days after we contacted them -- KitchenAid got around to responding to our inquiry. Here's what they had to say. We'll leave it to you to judge whether this was worth waiting six days for.

KitchenAid strives to make every consumer experience positive, and we are always sorry to learn of a consumer who has not had a positive experience with one of our products.  As you know, our KitchenAid Dishwashers are rated number #2 in the JD Powers [sic] satisfaction survey and have won several awards including Reviewed.com Dishwasher of the year [sic] recently.  Of course, we don't rest on our laurels, and are always looking for ways to innovate and improve the design, performance and overall experience for our consumers.  For those who are not satisfied with some aspect of their product, we encourage them to give us a call at (800)-422-1230 so our service professionals can address each individual situation.   Thank you again for contacting us. 

Beth Robinson
Brand Experience Senior Manager

A proposed settlement has been reached between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Process America Inc. and its owners, resolving allegations that the payment processor used unfair tactics to open and maintain scores of merchant accounts for Infusion Media which perpetrated the “Google Money Tree” work-at-home scheme.

Using these merchant accounts, Infusion Media charged more than $15 million in unauthorized charges on consumers’ debit and credit card accounts.

Payment processors and Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) enable merchants to charge consumers’ credit cards for products and services. In exchange, they get paid for each payment transaction the merchant processes.

False claims alleged

In June 2009, the FTC charged the Infusion Media defendants with falsely claiming that consumers could earn $100,000 in six months, misrepresenting an affiliation with Google, and tricking consumers into signing up for automatic monthly charges that would continue until the consumer took affirmative steps to cancel.

The complaint against Process America claims the defendants knew or should have known that they were processing charges that consumers had not authorized. Evidence that consumers were being charged without their permission included plainly deceptive statements on merchant websites, notices that the merchant should be placed in Visa and MasterCard chargeback monitoring programs, and chronically excessive chargeback rates -- the percentage of charges that are challenged by consumers and result in the charges being reversed.

From 2008 through 2009, the defendants opened and maintained 131 merchant accounts through which the perpetrators processed more than $15 million in unauthorized charges on consumer debit and credit card accounts.

To keep Infusion Media’s merchant accounts open, the defendants allegedly engaged in tactics that were designed to evade fraud monitoring programs implemented by Visa and MasterCard. These tactics included submitting merchant applications containing false information and “load balancing” – distributing transaction volume among numerous merchant accounts. As a result, Infusion Media’s scam operated for nearly a year, and Process America continued to earn fees from its payment processing activity.

Resolving the charges

To resolve the allegations in the complaint, the individual defendants -- Kim Ricketts, Keith Phillips and Craig Rickard -- have agreed to separate permanent injunctions containing prohibitions and restrictions on their future payment processing activities:

Rickard is banned from payment processing and acting as an ISO. He is prohibited from acting as a sales agent for any client engaged in (a) unfair or deceptive business practices; (b) certain categories of high-risk activities, including negative-option marketing (where the seller interprets consumers’ silence or inaction as permission to charge them), money-making opportunities, credit card or identity theft protection, timeshare resale services, buying clubs, medical discount plans; or (c) conduct that has qualified a client for a chargeback monitoring program.

He also is prohibited from acting as a sales agent for any client without first screening them for unfair or deceptive business practices. The order imposes a judgment of more than $184,000 that will be suspended based on his inability to pay. The full judgment will become due immediately if Rickard is found to have misrepresented his financial condition.

Ricketts and Phillips are prohibited from acting as payment processors, ISOs, or sales agents for any client engaged in (a) unfair or deceptive business practices; or (b) certain categories of high-risk activities certain categories of high-risk clients. They also are barred from acting as a sales agent for any client without screening and monitoring them for unfair or deceptive business practices.

There’s a legal battle brewing in the meat-packing industry over proposed new country-of-origin labeling requirements. The Wall Street Journal notes that “Big U.S. meatpackers are appealing to Congress in a last-ditch effort to stave off new federal labeling rules that require more information about the origins of beef, pork and other meats.” The new rules are slated to take effect this Saturday.

If enforced, the labeling requirements will mandate that meat packaging identify the country or countries where the animal was born, raised and killed. Large meat-packing companies like Cargill and Tyson Foods oppose the new regulations, on the grounds that they impose “unnecessary” costs on the industry. However, the Journal reports, the new regulations enjoy the support not only of consumer groups, but also of U.S. beef ranchers.

No mystery why consumer groups would support labeling requirements maximizing consumer information; American beef ranchers doubtless support the mandate on the grounds that U.S. consumers might prefer all-American beef over that imported from a reputed-unsafe country such as China.

Not so simple

What makes labeling laws particularly tricky is that it’s not simply American interests (business or consumer) that must be considered; there are also World Trade Organization and other international requirements that must be met if America is to continue trading with the rest of the world. And it’s not just American meat packers who oppose the new labeling regulations; our trading partners Canada and Mexico do, too. Indeed, the Journal reports that Canada is even threatening to impose retaliatory tariffs on American imports, if the new regulations take effect.

The previous labeling requirements — perhaps we should say “The current labeling requirements, until the new rules kick in this Saturday” — have been in place since 2008, and under these rules, the catchall label “Product of Canada, the U.S. or Mexico” could apply to animals born in one of those countries, but slaughtered and packaged in another.

The new rules would require labels to make distinctions between the three countries, as necessary; U.S. meatpackers and their allies argue this would impose unnecessarily high costs. On the other hand, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed the new rules last spring, it did so in part to address World Trade Organization complaints that the previous labeling rules unfairly discriminated against Canada.

As of press time it appears the new labeling requirements will come into force this Saturday. How or if it will affect consumer meat prices remains to be seen.

Tesla says its Model S plug-in hybrid is the "safest car in the world." But the feds would like to know why three of them have caught fire in five weeks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it is investigating the risk posed when the car's undercarriage strikes an object.

The fires have all followed highway mishaps in which the battery compartment was punctured.

"The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is aware of two incidents occurring on US public highways in which the subject vehicles caught fire after an undercarriage strike with metallic roadway debris. The resulting impact damage to the propulsion battery tray (baseplate) initiated thermal runaway," NHTSA said in a posting on its website. The agency noted that in each case, the car's warning system alerted the driver to the problem before the fires began.

"In each incident, the vehicle's battery monitoring system provided escalating visible and audible warnings, allowing the driver to execute a controlled stop and exit the vehicle before the battery emitted smoke and fire. Based on these incidents, NHTSA is opening this preliminary evaluation to examine the potential risks associated with undercarriage strikes on model year 2013 Tesla Model S vehicle."

Such preliminary evaluations are very common and occur almost daily. A small percentage are escalated into full-scale investigations and an even smaller percentage result in recalls. 

Aggressive stance

Nevertheless, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been taking an aggressive stance towards any suggestion that the cars could have even the slightest flaw, first denying the cars posed a greater fire risk than others and noting that gasoline-powered cars can also catch fire. Next, Musk said there was "definitely not going to be a recall." Then he claimed that he had asked for the NHTSA investigation, something NHTSA Administrator David Stickland said was news to him, according to Automotive News.

Strickland said he was "not aware of" Tesla asking for the investigation and said NHTSA had informed Tesla on Friday that it was opening the probe.

In a blog post yesterday, Musk continued to insist that the Tesla was no more fire-prone -- and perhaps less so -- than gas-powered cars. 

Less fire-prone

"Since the Model S went into production last year, there have been more than a quarter million gasoline car fires in the United States alone, resulting in over 400 deaths and approximately 1,200 serious injuries (extrapolating 2012 NFPA data)," he wrote. "However, the three Model S fires, which only occurred after very high-speed collisions and caused no serious injuries or deaths, received more national headlines than all 250,000+ gasoline fires combined."

Noting that there are 19,000 Model S vehicles on the road today, Musk said the known incidents involving fire amount to one fire per 6,333 cars, compared with one fire per 1,350 gasoline-powered cars.

"By this metric, you are more than four and a half times more likely to experience a fire in a gasoline car than a Model S! Considering the odds in the absolute, you are more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime than experience even a non-injurious fire in a Tesla," Musk said.

Blames the press

Musk, who has actively sought and reveled in, media coverage of his expensive battery-powered sports car, now complains about press coverage of the fires.

"The media coverage of Model S fires vs. gasoline car fires is disproportionate by several orders of magnitude, despite the latter actually being far more deadly," he complained.

Musk was not complaining in May when Consumer Reports magazine gave the Tesla Model S the highest score it's ever awarded a car -- 99 out of 100.

"The Tesla Model S takes everything you know about cars and stands it on its head," the magazine said. "It's a very agile, super-quick electric luxury sedan (with a hatchback!) that seats seven and gets the equivalent of 84 mpg."

The CR rating got lots of attention, especially given that the $90,000 Tesla will at best go 225 miles without pausing for five hours or more to recharge. 

Sales have been as blistering as the car's 0-60 mph performance and its stock price has been even faster off the line.  The company's stock price when the Consumer Reports review was released was $66.81. Today it stands at $126, down from a high of $194 but still up 282% for the year. 

Google takes another step in its transition to an Apple-style company this month as it opens retail showrooms where consumers can try out such products as Nexus 7 tablets, Chromebook computers, and Chromecast video-streaming devices.

They are literally showrooms, not stores. You can walk in and examine the merchandise and, if you like it, order it online. Google has previously worked with retailers like Best Buy to set up sections that display nothing but Google products, but this is taking it a step farther.

The showrooms will feature a large snow globe complete with snow, we're told. Customers will be able to take pictures and videos of themselves with the products that they can share online -- right from the Google showroom! We're not sure this will have the gee-whiz effect Google is hoping for, but who knows?

Just where the showrooms will be isn't quite clear at this point. 

How, you ask, is this like Apple? Well, Google has been steadily moving towards becoming a manufacturer of integrated software and hardware products -- laptops, tablets and smartphones that come with their own operating system. 

Life is a lot easier for a manufacturer when devices can be designed to run one, and only one, operating system. Microsoft rather valiantly for years produced its Windows OS that will more or less happily run on just about any machine and interact with a nearly infinite number of peripherals -- you know, printers, scanners, keyboards, etc. Its reward was being portrayed in commercials as a rumpled guy who produced bloatware instead of the cool dude who put out walled-garden my-way-or-the-highway products.

There's also the "cool" factor. Apple had it in the Steve Jobs era. Google is trying but may not be quite there yet.

Will opening what amount to ersatz igloos in shopping centers move the cool needle? Well, we'll see, won't we?  

With the holiday shopping season well underway it's a safe bet that millions of parents are browsing online and visiting stores, snapping up the latest and “hottest” toys and games. To provide some helpful advice, the National Parenting Center has released its 23rd annual Holiday Seal of Approval report.

The report makes recommendations for gifts after two months of consumer testing by parents and children at The National Parenting Center's test centers. the report includes reviews of the recommended toys and games.

The program is an independent testing system to judge a variety of products introduced and marketed to the parent andchild consumer market. The reviews and recommendations are based on observations over the eight week period as testers play with, build, read about, and judge the products.

More than a dozen categories

The products are broken down into more than a dozen categories, includings kits and crafts, audio, outdoor play, educational toys, video games and toys, puzzles and dolls.

This season only two video games make the list. Skylanders SWAP Force by Activision, is recommended for kids age 6 and older and lists for $74.99. The National Parenting Center review calls the game a mega-hit of mega-proportions.

“The frenzy to play with this newest version of the wildly popular game in our testing centers was intense,” the review says. “The popularity is clearly off the charts but more importantly, after spending time with the game, parents say that it is all for good reason.”

The game is also versatile. It contains a portal that plugs into your XBox, Playstation or Wii. The other video game winning the Seal of Approval is Sesame Street: Solve it with Elmo, Abby & Super Grover 2.0, by LeapFrog. It's suggested for ages three to five and sells for $24.99.

Promotes science learning

As you might expect with the Sesame Street tie-in, this game is educational. It focuses on the currently trendy STEM areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

“While playing with their favorite Sesame Street characters, kids are learning problem solving, levers and weights, weight and balance, engineering, magnetic forces, and more,” the review notes.

Some other toys making the list this year are:

• Switch & Go Dinos Blister the Velociraptor, by VTech Electronics, recommended for age three to eight and selling for $24.99. Being able to transform a vehicle into an animal and then back again was described again and again by young testers as “awesome.”
• PopStars! Stage, by Playmobil USA, recommended for ages four to 10 and selling for $39.99. The set comes with 4 pop star figures, each in different poses. Children are given the opportunity to play tour manager arranging the stage, positioning the musicians, placing equipment, setting the lights, which are real flickering LED’s, and even playing sound mixer adjusting the volume on the speaker. (See video below)
• Glow Pets, by Ontel Products Corp, recommended for ages three and up and sells for $29.99. Glow Pets are oversized stuffed animals with a magical light hidden inside the body that makes them glow in the dark.
• 90' Eagle Series Zipline Kit by Brand 44, recommended for ages eight and older and sells for $169.99. You’ll need 90 feet of space between two sturdy trees to start. Testers found the quality to be superb, featuring stainless steel cable along with galvanized clamps and hardware.
• Marker Maker by Crayola, recommended for ages eight and up and sells for $24.99. The pre-craft kit helps kids make their own markers that they can then use in other activities. This product is a mix of science project and art project. Reviewers found kids loved mixing their own colors and making their own markers.

The Seal of Approval compiles its list of potential gifts by gauging consumer reaction to products currently being marketed to both parents and their children such as toys, games, books, videos, websites and educational products. Each is reviewed on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, price, packaging, design, stimulation, desirability, age appropriateness and instructions, among other criteria.

Nearly stagnant disposable incomes, the government shutdown and a general waning of consumer coonfidence are expected to take a toll on sales in the coming Christmas shopping season.

IBISWorld is forecasting weak Thanksgiving and holiday gift spending, with revenue generated by the Thanksgiving holiday increasing only slightly from 2012. And, say these experts, while Cyber Monday sales are anticipated to increase strongly by double-digits this year, this growth rate is deceptive. Forecasters say it's mainly due to consumers’ continued shift away from physical store shopping and toward online deals.

The bottom line: Overall gift spending from Black Friday through Cyber Monday is expected to grow by a meager 2.2% year-over-year.

Thanksgiving

Compared with last year, Thanksgiving spending is anticipated to grow 3.7% -- to $8.2 billion. More than two-thirds of this figure is expected to come from spending on food and drink for family gatherings and festivities; this category is expected to increase 5.1% from 2012. Celebrating the year-end holidays with loved ones remains an important tradition for many Americans, so spending on consumables is not expected to suffer much, despite poor confidence.

Families and relatives are expected to gather around the turkey this year, with 87.8% of US households expected to celebrate T-day. The average household will spend $52.75 on Thanksgiving dinner and $31.23 on turkey alone. Other, more discretionary expenses such as greeting cards, gifts and decorations are not anticipated to grow much this year -- increasing only 0.7%. Consumers are more likely to dedicate their cash to food and drinks.

Thanksgiving Sales

All dollar figures are in constant 2013 dollars

Holiday shopping

With tight budgets expected this season, Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending increases are projected to be smaller than those of 2012. This year, Black Friday is forecast to generate $13.6 billion in revenue -- an increase of 3.9% over last year’s total. The smaller increase is due to the continued sluggish growth in disposable incomes and relentless high unemployment. Still, growth in Black Friday revenue will be driven largely by door-buster deals and online sales that start at midnight. With bellies full of turkey, consumers are likely to jump on these online promotions; others will opt to walk the food off at retail locations, vying to score a great deal.

Spending during the Black Friday weekend (which includes Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is anticipated to grow just 1.7% to $38.7 billion. The bulk of weekend purchases (35.2%) is expected to be made on Black Friday itself, owing to enticing sales and the spirit of the day itself.

Cyber Monday, while still only about 15.0% the size of Black Friday in terms of revenue, is forecast to record double-digit growth of 13.1%. The $1.8 billion shopping day has increasingly made its way to the top of shoppers’ preferences for its plethora of online deals and free shipping promotions. This year will be no exception, as Cyber Monday outpaces growth during the remainder of the shopping weekend.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales

It didn't get any better but then it didn't get any worse, either.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes was unchanged in November from a downwardly revised level of 54.

For six months in a row now, more builders have viewed market conditions as good than poor.

“Given the current interest rate and pricing environment, consumers continue to show interest in purchasing new homes, but are holding back because Congress keeps pushing critical decisions on budget, tax and government spending issues down the road,” said NAHB Chairman Rick Judson. “Meanwhile, builders continue to face challenges related to rising construction costs and low appraisals.”

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

Holding its own

The HMI index gauging current sales conditions in November held steady at 58. The component measuring expectations for future sales fell one point to 60 and the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers dropped one point to 42.

The HMI three-month moving average was mixed in the four regions. No movement was recorded in the South or West, which held unchanged at 56 and 60, respectively. The Northeast recorded a one-point gain to 39 and the Midwest fell three points to 60.

America is getting older. The youngest Baby Boomers turn 50 next year, the oldest celebrate their 68th birthdays. Many are already contemplating how they will age – and where.

Not surprisingly, many current and future seniors would like to remain in their homes rather than move into an assisted living facility or nursing home. The concept, known as “aging in place," aims to keep seniors in their homes and involved in their communities as they get older.

To do so, however, they must overcome some significant challenges. Transportation, physical mobility, and in-home safety can present major problems that force seniors into assisted living facilities before they would like.

A 2012 survey by the National Council on Aging found about 90% of respondents said they prefer to remain in their homes as they get older. Of this group, 85% are confident in their ability to do so without making any significant modifications to their home.

Economic realities

Seniors planning to stay in their homes cite not wanting to move out of a home they like and a desire to stay close to friends and family as the top motivators behind their choice. But current economic realities are also a factor: nearly a quarter of respondents who plan to stay in their current home do not believe they can sell it in today’s market, and 26% say they cannot afford the cost of moving their belongings.

To assist seniors and their families in reaching their “aging in place” goals new businesses are springing up to provide a variety of in-home services – everything from delivering meals to in-home health services. Though there are a few national firms, the majority are local or regional in nature.

What to look for

What do you look for when selecting a company to provide home care services? Experts at the Mayo Clinic say it starts with qualifications. The company should be licensed, if your state has that requirement. At the very least, the company or agency should be certified by Medicare to meet federal requirements for health and safety. 

Be sure to ask about exmployee screening. How are employees selected and what references can they provide? This is especially important if you are considering a home health aide.

You should also try to gauge the quality of care the agency provides. One way to do that is to ask about training. How, for example, are caregivers supervised and evaluated?

Other tips

Here are some other things to consider:

• Included services: Not all companies and agencies provide the same services. Understand what your needs are and make sure they match with the agency's capabilities. When interviewing prospects tell them the specific type of senior home care you are interested in and ask if they can accommodate your requests.
• Hours of service: Do you need around the clock help? If so, make sure the company you are considering can provide it. Will it be provided by a single aide or in shifts?
• In case of emergency: What happens if there is an accident or emergency? Discuss emergency procedures with any agency you are considering.
• Care plan: An agency that seeks input from the family and the senior to be cared for, then designs a plan around it, will likely have the most flexible care plan. The plan should spell out what services are to be provided.
• Payment: Discuss payment upfront so there are no surprises. Many home care agencies and companies provide services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other benefit programs.

Staying healthy helps

For their part, aging Baby Boomers can make it easier to age in place by maintaining and improving their health, so that they can remain independent longer. The National Council on Aging survey suggests many of today's seniors are optimistic about what the future holds for their health – maybe a little too optimistic.

In the survey a large majority of seniors gave themselves high marks when it comes to maintaining their health: 92% said they manage stress very well or somewhat well, and 84% said they are confident that they will be able to do what is needed to maintain their health over the next five to 10 years.

But the percentage of respondents who exercise or engage in regular physical activity to maintain their health is considerably lower, the survey revealed.

Just over half of the surveyed seniors said they exercise or are physically active at least four days per week, while another quarter indicated they are active one to three days per week. About one in 10 respondents reported that their exercise or physical activity is limited to just a few days each month, and 11% are never physically active.

Businesses don't like it when their customers post negative reviews but most don't go as far as a Michigan trinket company called KlearGear.com.

According to a report on KUTV in Salt Lake City, Kleargear imposed a $3,500 charge on a couple who ordered a number of trinkets from the company, which sells novelty items that it thinks will appeal to the technically-inclined. An example is the $14.95 "Can of Whoop Ass," something every electrical engineer needs on his desk, as KlearGear sees it.

According to the KUTV report, Jen Palmer said that her husband ordered a number of items from KlearGear back in 2008. Thirty days went by and the items had not shown up, so the transaction was automatically canceled by PayPal.

Palmer, not satisfied with having her charge canceled, tried to call the company but didn't get through, so she posted a negative review on RipOff Report, saying the company had "incompetent customer service."

Time went by and, three years later, her husband received an email from KlearGear, claiming he owed $3,500 for violating a clause in the company's terms of service that supposedly prohibited customers from posting negative reviews.

No such clause appears today but according to published reports, the clause formerly said: "In an effort to ensure fair and honest public feedback, and to prevent the pung of libelous content in any form, your acceptance of this sales contract prohibits you from taking any action that negatively impacts KlearGear.com, its reputation, products, services, management or employees." ​

Trying to extract themselves from the fix they found themselves in, the Palmers contacted Ripoff Report, which allegedly tried to shake them down for $2,000 to remove the report. The Palmers declined.

And that would be that, except that KlearGear has apparently besmirched the Palmers' credit rating, claiming that the unpaid $3,500 is a legitimate debt. We tried to call KlearGear.com president Lee Gersten but consistently got a busy signal. Not voice mail. A busy signal. Remember those?

The Palmers say that because of the bad mark on their credit, they've been unable to get a loan for a new car or to fix their home's furance.

Guess they really need that can of Whoop Ass now. 

A Walmart store in Canton, Ohio set up a canned-food drive, asking employees to donate food to co-workers who presumably can’t afford to feed themselves on whatever they’re making at Walmart.

According to Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg, when he spoke to the  Cleveland Plain Dealer, the food drive is proof that Walmart employees care about each other. But according to an organization of Walmart workers seeking better pay and working conditions from their employer, the canned food drive is more evidence that Walmart underpays its employees.

Members of Organization United for Respect at Walmart (a.k.a. OUR Walmart), which first posted a photograph of the canned food drive to its Facebook page on Monday, along with a request to “LIKE if you think Walmart should pay us enough that we can afford to buy our own Thanksgiving dinners!” Indeed, when Cleveland.com reported the story, they headlined it with a question: “Is Walmart’s request of associates to help provide Thanksgiving dinner for co-workers proof of low wages?”

Walmart subsidized?

Walmart critics have long charged that taxpayers effectively “subsidize” the company because so many Walmart workers make so little money, they qualify for food stamps, Medicaid and other low-income welfare benefits; OUR Walmart alluded to this on Monday when it posted the food-drive photo next to the captions “Walmart is asking us to donate food to our coworkers. Why can’t Walmart pay us enough so we can feed our families?” and above a Walmart employee quoted as saying “If I made $25,000/yr, I wouldn’t have to rely on food stamps.”

Patients tend to trust their doctors, which isn't always a good thing. Taking a physician's advice about health care may turn out all right but when the subject turns to finances, it may be best to look elsewhere.

A recent New York Times series and a warning last week from New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman illustrate the extent of the problem: incrasingly, health care providers are urging patients to use medical credit cards to pay for treatments not covered by their insurance plans.

“The explosion of medical credit card debt is a major concern for many Americans, particularly vulnerable seniors and low-to middle-income households. For patients, the financial consequences can be dire,” said Schneiderman. “The problem is made even worse by companies that encourage high-pressure sales tactics in our health care settings and companies that charge outlandishly high interest rates.”

The cards became popular about a decade ago among cosmetic surgeons, whose services are often not covered by insurance. Doctors then and now benefit in two ways by pushing the cards onto their patients: they get a healthy kickback from the card provider and they get to charge their patients their full rate for whatever procedure they undergo and can often charge their full fee upfront, even for a continuing course of treatment that would normally be billed in increments.

The cards are now becoming popular among general practice physicians, dentists and others, especially those who deal with lower-income and older Americans, who often face large out-of-pocket expenses for basic care that is not covered by Medicare or private insurance.

GE  Capital

In June, following an investigation, the Schneiderman's office reached a pact with one such company, CareCredit, which is a subsidiary of GE Capital Retail Bank. The investigation found that the application process is often rushed; providers frequently fail to inform consumers of the basic terms of the card, and patients incur costly credit charges that they initially mistake for payment plans.

The agreement requires a three-day “cooling-off” period to give consumers an opportunity to consider the card’s terms and the treatment plan; a limit to what the provider can charge in advance, and additional transparency to make consumers aware of high interest rates if charges are not paid off at the end of the promotional period. 

In an effort to help those most susceptible to the damage that these cards and lines of credit can cause, Schneiderman issued the following tips to help consumers:

• Give yourself time to understand the terms of financing. Take the time to read the entire contract; don’t rely on a sales pitch.
• Resist any pressure to apply immediately, even though it is your provider who is offering you the financing.
• If your provider tries to charge you in advance of treatment, ask to be charged for each visit separately instead. If your request is refused, consider finding another provider.
• If the services will span more than one visit, ask for a detailed treatment plan.
• If applying for deferred interest ("no-interest") financing, understand how the deferred interest will accrue and when it will be imposed. Understand the monthly payments you must make in order to avoid interest.
• Ask your provider for alternative payment options, such as an in-house payment plan. Your provider may also be willing to negotiate the fee. Once you sign up for a credit card or other financing, you may have more difficulty addressing billing matters with your provider.
• Make sure your insurance coverage, if any, is exhausted before using a credit card or other financing, and don't allow your provider to charge your credit card for any service that should be covered by insurance.

It sometimes seems that the Affordable Care Act, unpopularly known as Obamacare, is being blamed for everything except the weather, and now large retailers say they're seeing signs it's hurting sales.

Walmart has been suffering anemic sales lately -- it just reported its third consecutive drop in comparable-store sales -- and says it's afraid the looming implementation of Obamacare could make things even worse. 

"For many of our customers, having to afford health care and insurance may be another line item in their personal budget that they may not have had to cover previously." Carol Schumacher, vice president of investor relations, told analysts on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The idea behind Obamacare, of course, is to provide insurance coverage for families that currently have no coverage. But for lower-income consumers who are barely scraping by already, the addition of even a small monthly premium could cause them to cut back on other purchases, Walmart and other retailers fear.

Walmart's not alone. True Value hardware's CEO says Obamacare is "a massive concern." 

"Discretionary spending will certainly be impacted by the changes in the contribution Americans will have to make for health care," John Hartmann said Friday, the Journal reported.

Disaster or blip?

So is this a disaster in the making or just a blip?

Many economists vote for the blip. After all, Americans now spend 17.7% percent of GDP on health care, far more than any other developed country.

As Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas point out in the Washington Post's Wonkblog, if the U.S. could get health care spending down to 12%, there'd be an extra $893 or so billion floating around in the economy, money that could be spent on consumer goods, education, infrastructure and, presumably, the lottery.

Of course, the lottery is what uninsured Americans have now: by going without health insurance, they're basically gambling that they won't get sick. But as with most games of chance, the odds favor the house; after all, everyone gets sick eventually and without insurance, the options are to go to the emergency room and let everyone else pick up the tab, or take an even riskier gamble by going without medical care.

Who benefits?

A recent RAND Corporation study, meanwhile, may provide some comfort to the Walmarts of the world, if they're able to pause and look beyond same-store sales over the next quarter.

The study finds that people who are currently uninsured -- which would include many of the lower-income consumers who are Walmart customers -- will see the largest drop in health care spending when they become insured under Medicaid. 

"Among the groups we studied, a clear benefit of the Affordable Care Act is that it will reduce the risk of facing catastrophic medical costs,” said Christine Eibner, a study author and a senior economist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “Consumers with the lowest incomes will see the most-dramatic reductions of their risks.”

People who will be newly insured and do not qualify for government subsidies -- younger, healthier consumers with relatively well-paying jobs -- are those who are most likely to see increased total spending as they begin paying premiums for health coverage. 

Overall, the RAND study found that out-of-pocket medical expenses will decline for most consumers who become newly insured or change their source of health insurance under Obamacare.

In other words, costs may rise slightly for higher-income Americans and go down for lower-income individuals -- which seems to be what most fair-minded people would vote for. 

Leaving aside politics and economics for a minute, the primary goal of the Affordable Care Act is to deliver better health care at lower cost. This is a big order and one that's not likely to happen quickly or smoothly, as the frothy run-up to implementation shows.  

Dave Power is the founder of J.D. Power and Associates. The new book about his fifty years in the auto industry, Power: How J.D. Power III Became the Auto Industry’s Adviser, Confessor, and Eyewitness to History, is available at all major booksellers. Website:www.davepowerbook.com.

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I owned other cars during the years but these ten stand out in my mind for various reasons. Especially as my company, J.D. Power and Associates, got more established I tried to never own a car that would be obvious or expected. I wanted to show people that the cars that were at the top of the J.D. Power and Associates lists for quality or customer satisfaction didn’t get there because they were my personal favorites. And, you can see, when there were new models, or special editions that offered something different and unexpected, I was a happy pushover.

If there is a secondary commonality among my favorite cars, I suppose it has to be speed. I am not a huge car enthusiast, not one that physically works on his vehicles or is a racing buff, but I’ve been known to push the speed limits around Los Angeles, especially racing down the freeways or the canyons to get to the airport! I can admit this now, but I used to have a few friendly competitions with my employees about our best times driving to the airport.

1. 1959 Ford Thunderbird: My first new car, purchased through Ford’s employee plan. We always love our first new car, don’t we?

2. 1971 Buick Electra Four Door: Metallic green with a black vinyl roof. I drove the family (myself, my wife Julie, and our four kids) from California to the East Coast and back on summer vacation 1971. Last time we did that!

3. 1979 Oldsmobile 98 Diesel: Of course the engine and transmission were horrible quality. But, the fuel economy and extra fuel tanks I had installed in the trunk were the perfect antidote to the energy crisis at that time—especially because my commute from suburban Los Angeles to downtown was 45 miles each way! It was a good-looking 1970s color, a metallic rust—almost copper—exterior, with a tan leather interior. I still believe in the value of diesel engines but in this case GM just did not get it right.

4. 1981 Chrysler Imperial Coupe: Black with rich maroon leather interior. I worked a deal with Lee Iacocca and the Chrysler people to exchange a subscription to one of the JDPA studies for the car. Its styling was controversial at the time but it served the purpose of demonstrating a more expressive image for a big car, which Chrysler needed at the time.

5. 1983 Jaguar XJ-6: Even though the quality was a big problem I found that when it ran, it ran really well. It had a great ride that struck the right balance between being tight and sporty, and yet it was smooth and supple. The engine purred like a Jaguar should. And, it was gorgeous to look at, too. A rich dark blue metallic with camel leather interior. It gave me some great personal experience with Jaguar when we were trying to help them overcome their quality problems.

6. 1986 Audi 5000: Yes, I had one. It was right after the media crisis over the car’s sudden acceleration. Remember this model was expressing a new design language for Audi: smooth, sleek, and modern. Sales were great until the crisis. I wanted to show my support to Audi, and the rest of the auto industry, by owning and driving one because I felt it was safe.

7. 1988 Oldsmobile Touring Sedan: Dark silver with gray leather interior. This was a special edition model developed to provide some excitement into the Oldsmobile line. It had a specially tuned 3.8 liter V6 engine, four-speed transmission, sport-tuned touring suspension, sporty leather interior, and exterior packaging.

8. 1988 Buick Reatta: Bright red with tan interior. Another innovative design that had its fans and critics. Actually it was a car I bought for my wife Julie for her fiftieth birthday as a surprise. She got pulled over by the police the same day she drove it home because the officer wanted to get a closer look. The purpose of the car was to provide Buick with a new image-leading vehicle, and the executives at Buick were dying to get me to buy one.

9. 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS: It started as a special edition model and only had a short production run of a few years. I was able to order one of the last ones built before Chevrolet ended production. It had a Corvette engine and a sport-tuned suspension. Dark maroon and dark tinted windows. A police package beauty: it had speed, was fun to drive, and was big enough for my lanky frame. 

10. 2003 Mercury Marauder: I loved the idea of another police package cruiser for civilian use. Black on black (the only way they came). Like the Impala SS, this was a special edition built for speed. This is the car I still drive today! 

The auto industry has brought richness and satisfaction to my life beyond what I’d ever imagined growing up in Worcester, Massachusetts. The people who choose to devote their life’s work to producing the cars and trucks that drivers want to drive — from the workers on the factory floor to the engineers to the executives to the dealership personnel — have played an important role in shaping our culture, and I’m confident they will continue to do so.