Current Events in March 2014

Mortgage applicants rose last week for the first time in four weeks.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, applications jumped 9.4% during the week ending February 28, 2014.

The Refinance Index was up 10% from the previous week, but is still 3% lower than it was two weeks ago. The refinance share of mortgage was little-changed at 57.7% of total applications, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained at 8% of total applications.

Contract interest rates

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) fell 6 basis points -- from 4.53% to 4.47%, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 4.37% from 4.47%, with points increasing to 0.20 from 0.13 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs backed by the FHA was 4.13%, down 4 basis points from the previous week, with points decreasing to 0.13 from 0.20 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs dropped to 3.52% from 3.56%, with points decreasing to 0.18 from 0.28 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs went from 3.17% to 3.09%, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.

February was another fairly tepid month for job creation.

According to the ADP National Employment Report produced in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, the economy cranked out 139,000 jobs last month after producing a disappointing 113,00 payroll positions in January.

The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

"February was another soft month for the job market,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Employment was weak across a number of industries. Bad winter weather, especially in mid-month, weighed on payrolls. Job growth is expected to improve with warmer temperatures.”

Services carry the month

Service-providing industries added 120,000 jobs in February, compared with a downwardly-revised

January figure of 116,000. Professional/business services contributed the most to growth in service-providing industries, adding 33,000 jobs. Expansion in trade/transportation/utilities accelerated slightly after a poor showing in January, gaining 31,000 jobs in February.

Financial activities employment fell for the second straight month after January’s reading was downwardly revised to an 8,000 job loss. These two months have been the weakest for financial services employment since January and February of 2011.

Goods-producing employment rose by 19,000 jobs in February, up 7,000 from January. Nearly all of that was in the construction industry which added 14,000 jobs. Manufacturing eked out a small gain in February -- adding just 1,000 jobs.

All in all, noted ADP President and CEO Carlos Rodriguez, the 139,000 jobs created in February was “well below the average over the last 12 months.”

Lagging payrolls

Payroll growth for businesses with 49 or fewer employees accelerated in February, adding 59,000 jobs. While an improvement from January, growth remains slower than previous months; the smallest gain for small businesses in 2013 was 71,000. Employment levels among medium-sized companies with 50-499 employees rose by 35,000 and employment at large companies -- those with 500 or more employees -- increased by 44,000.

While this represented an acceleration in job growth for large firms, growth at mid-size firms was slower than it has been since April 2013.

The Labor Department's employment report is scheduled for release at week's end.

Three weeks into the filing season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has received about a third of the individual income tax returns that it expects to receive this year.

According to the agency, nearly 98% of the 49.6 million returns it has received so far have been processed. In fact, IRS says that each week this filing season, it has processed a greater percentage of the returns received than during comparable weeks last year.

Zapping them in

More taxpayers are filing their returns electronically this year. Overall, 46.6 million returns have been e-filed this year, up 1% from the same time last year. As in prior years, the greatest increase is among individuals filing from their home computers. Nearly 22 million returns have been e-filed from home computers this year, according to IRS -- an increase of almost 7% from the same time last year.

And -- the good news for taxpayers -- the IRS has issued more than 40 million tax refunds this year, an increase of more than six% compared to the same time in 2013, with almost 90% of these refunds directly deposited into taxpayers’ accounts.

Here's a breakdown of the filing season so far:

In the world of financial services, an annuity is about as boring as it gets. You invest money with an insurance company then get a steady stream of income until you die.

For many, it has the appeal of a defined benefit pension, which in today's world has gone the way of the dodo bird. For seniors worried about having their money last through retirement, safe from market gyrations, annuities have started to look pretty attractive.

Here's how most annuities work: a number of people buy the product from an insurance company, which sends them a monthly check until they die. Some people will die sooner than others. You're betting you'll live longer while the insurance company, which is an expert in the actuarial tables, is taking the other side of that bet.

While most financial planners will point out that the return on an annuities is quite a bit less than other financial instruments, many retirees frankly don't care. After the 2008 financial crisis, they are looking for guarantees – at least as much of a guarantee that the financial services industry can offer. According to an insurance newsletter, sales of most annuity product types enjoyed double-digit growth rates in 2013.

Consider the source

Before buying an annuity it is important ask and answer a few questions. For starters, where are you getting your information about the annuity you are considering? If it is from the insurance company selling it, it's best to look for a second opinion.

Annuities are very profitable products for insurance companies. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you should understand the person trying to selling you this product has a very strong incentive to get you to sign on the dotted line.

If you have a spouse you will probably consider an annuity with survivor benefits. That means if you die first, you spouse will continue to receive income for the rest of his or her life.

Not without risk

Doing so, however, entails some risk. An annuity with survivor benefits will pay less income each month than one without these benefits. The insurance company must plan for payments until two people die, not one, so the monthly payout is less.

And what happens if your designated survivor dies first? You continue to receive the reduced monthly payout from the annuity, but as John Grobe, a financial consultant specializing in federal government retirees, points out, the money withheld to care for your beneficiary was essentially wasted.

In addition to an annuity with survivor benefits, there are immediate annuities, fixed annuities, variable annuities and equity indexed annuities. An immediate annuity, in which you pay in a lump sum of cash in return for a monthly check, is about the simplest, and according to Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Tim Maurer, probably the best for the largest number of people.

Best of the bunch?

“For Americans who will not be retiring with a meaningful stream of pension income, immediate annuities offer that potential,” Maurer wrote in an article for CNBC.com. “Because an immediate annuity is purposefully consuming both interest and principal to create an income stream, the individual distributions are likely to be higher than anyone could justify taking from a balanced portfolio of investments, where maintenance of the principal balance is often the goal.”

Maurer is least impressed with the equity indexed annuity, which he says is tied in to the rise in the stock market but somehow, without the downside risk. He's not alone in his skepticism.

Wes Moss, a CFP who writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, cautions consumers these products are being sold with commercials describing them as “can't lose” investments. What you should know, he writes, is that you're locking your money up for 10 to 15 years while receiving a rather anemic return – in the neighborhood of 2.5%.

“If those annuity owners had invested wisely and consistently in a balanced S&P 500 and government bond market blend, exposing themselves to some risk, their potential upside for that 25-year period was considerably higher, ranging from 6.5 to 7 percent per year,” he writes.

All this may be true, but it is also clear that for many consumers approaching and entering retirement, economic turbulence in recent years has virtually eliminated their appetite for risk. However, before making any financial decision that commits you long-term, it's a good idea to talk with a trusted and objective financial advisor.

If you're an adult trying to childproof your home, you already know to watch out for obvious threats like “sharp kitchen implements” and “caustic household chemicals,” but it's easy to overlook things which are completely innocuous to anyone with adult sensibilities, but can often be fatal to children.

For example: in January, two children suffocated in Massachusetts after accidentally locking themselves inside a vintage cedar chest. This is a definite danger to children, though generally not a threat to the safety of adults old enough to know better (and often too large to fit inside a cedar chest anyway).

Even more dangerous to young children are the loose cords that dangle from various curtain or mini-blind window-covering setups. Consider this appalling statistic: in the 22 days spanning Feb. 8 to March 1, four American children died after accidentally strangling on window-covering cords.

Time to act

The Consumer Federation of America cited this in its March 4 press release calling upon the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to “take action” regarding the matter. According to CPSC statistics, approximately 12 children per year die in similar incidents.

The CPSC has conducted numerous recalls of blinds and other window-coverings and has adopted new safety standards but CFA wants it to do more. 

Want to check whether your window coverings are safe. Here is a complete list of CPSC recalls of blinds and related products.

Whether or not the CPSC “takes action” to remove this threat from the country, it should be easy for you to take action to remove this threat from your home. What kind of window-coverings do you have? Are there any ropes or cords — anything from velvet ties holding back long curtains, to long miniblind pull-strings with plastic coverings on the ends? If so, that's the part likely to be hazardous to young children.

If you cannot afford to replace your current window coverings with “cordless” varieties, you should at least make sure the ends of any rope-ties or pull-cords are up high, far out of reach of any young child. For example: if the ends of your mini-blind pull strings dangle low enough for small kids to reach, try driving a small nail or decorative hook high into the wall next to the window, and loop the cord around that.

Ever heard the saying “Don't call us; we'll call you?” In everyday social situations that is an appallingly rude attitude to take. But on the Internet it's basic self-preservation — assuming you change “call” to “contact.”

For example: if you are a Netflix customer, it's perfectly fine if you wish to contact Netflix because you think you're having a problem. But if Netflix contacts you about a problem — don't believe it. Chances are it's not really Netflix, but a sleazy would-be thief impersonating Netflix in the latest attempt at a phishing scam.

Security blogger Jerome Segura of Malwarebytes discovered the latest Netflix-flavored phishing scam, which at heart is the same as any phishing attempt: a would-be hacker poses as a business or financial institution – Netflix, Microsoft, your bank or cell phone company or anyone else – and asks for your account numbers, passwords and other information identity thieves find useful.

Hacker bait

Segura pretended to “fall for” the Netflix phishing scam, with a computer he'd specifically set up to be used as hacker-bait. (Which is another way of saying: do not try this at home, or at work, with your own computer.) The phishers, whose IP address traced back to somewhere in India, took full control of Segura's computer and stole copies of files with names like “Banking2013” -- nothing any legitimate Netflix IT guy would need to see, in other words.

Segura posted screenshot highlights, along with a full seven-minute video of the phishers' trip through his bait-computer files, on Malwarebytes.

But suppose that you, unsuspecting, received the same bait email Segura got, and furthermore suppose you decide to ignore the “Don't call us; we'll call you” rule of Internet scam protection. Or maybe you're just legitimately scared – “Gee, maybe there is something wrong with my Netflix account, and the company really is trying to warn me about it!” What can you do to protect yourself?

Easy: if you want to contact Netflix (or any other company in existence) because you're worried about a possible warning email or phone call or text message allegedly from that company, do your own independent online search for the company's contact information, rather than accept the information offered in the email.

When Segura got that fake Netflix phishing message, for example, it urged him to call a certain 1-800 phone number, allegedly for Netflix's “Member services.” But if you go to Google and search for “Netflix member service number” (without quotation marks), you will discover that, in Netflix corporate terminology, there is no such thing as a “Member service number,” although there is a “Customer service number,” 1-866-579-7172, which is completely different from the number the phishers asked Segura to call.

Jeeps may have their downsides but, if nothing else, they're thought of as big and at least somewhat brawny. That all changed today when Fiat Chrysler unveiled its new "baby Jeep," the Renegade, the first Jeep to be made in Italy.

The Renegade is part of Fiat Chrysler's ambitious global growth plans. It hopes to grab a respectable share of the fast-growing mini-SUV market in Europe, where congestion, narrow streets and sky-high fuel prices mandate smaller cars.

Stealing a line from Apple, the company is promoting the Renegade as "designed in America, built in Italy."  It will be built on Fiat's "small wide" platform and offered with both gasoline and diesel engines.

But Renegade isn't the term being used in Canada these days, where Fiat Chrysler is putting the arm on Canada to cough up new corporate hand-outs if it is to continue producing minivans and cars there.

Like the United States, which put up $4.7 billion, Canada bailed Chrysler out when it was on the eve of destruction, chipping in $2.9 billion Canadian five years ago. 

Times have changed

Ah, but that was then. Things are a bit different today, and Canada is not feeling quite as generous. Political leaders there say that Fiat Chrysler has not invested as heavily in Canada as in other countries. 

In particular, it irks Canada that Mexico is close to taking over the No. 2 auto-manufacturing spot in North American, even though it did not give any financial aid to either General Motors or Chrysler.

The New York Times quotes a leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party as saying that of the $42.3 billion invested in the North American auto industry between 2010 and 2012, just $2.3 billion was spent in Canada, feeding the feeling that Canada is being short-changed.

It's not known how much the company is trying to squeeze out of Canada this time around but the figure $700 million has been mentioned in several reports.

It especially galls Canada that Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne holds dual Canadian-Italian citizenship and was educated largely in Canadian schools. 

10,000 jobs

At stake in the stand-off are about 10,000 jobs in Windsor, where Fiat Chrysler manufactures cars and minivans, many of which are exported to Europe and the United States. Some politicians are making noises are not paying "bribes" but the political reality may be that Canada has little choice.

Chrysler has also been under fire from critics in the U.S., who say it has not done enough -- or, to be more precise, anything -- to correct alleged fire hazards in older Jeep models.

Consumer crusader Ralph Nader is among those who has called on Fiat to recall 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees, saying they are "a modern day Pinto for soccer moms with a fuel tank located dangerously behind the rear axle in the crush zone of an impact. "

"Now that Fiat has purchased Chrysler, it has the moral obligation to remedy the deadly fuel tank design in the Jeep Grand Cherokee before more innocent victims are burned today, not only in the United States, but also in Europe,” Nader said in a 2011 speech in Milan, Italy, where he had received an award from an automotive magazine

Dish Network has made a lot of hay out of its Hopper DVR, which allows customers to seamlessly skip over ads in TV shows that they record for later viewing.

But now Dish has struck a deal with the Walt Disney Company, agreeing to disable Hopper on ABC and ESPN broadcasts until three days after the live broadcast. 

The terms of the deal weren't disclosed but it sets the stage for similar agreements with the other major networks and potentially eliminates costly litigation.

What does it do for consumers? While a skeptic might say it does nothing, it would be more accurate to say that it helps provide continued support for the networks, which depend mostly on advertising revenue to finance their news, sports and entertainment programming.

The three-day provision is a nod to the terms under which advertisers pay networks for their ads. Ratings for up to three days are the basis for calculating ad payments, so the Dish deal preserves the networks' revenue without too much inconvenience to viewers, at least in theory.

"The agreement will result in dismissal of all pending litigation between the two companies, including disputes over PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop," the companies said in a joint statement.

Next up: CBS, Fox, NBC.

You could be completing a purchase, browsing the the latest news or checking out your Facebook page when suddenly a message pops up on your computer, warning you've just been infected with a virus.

Yikes! But never fear, the helpful pop-up offers a “free virus scan” – or a low-cost software that can fix the problem.

Great! But wait a minute, how did they know you've downloaded something nasty?

They don't know, because you haven't. At least, not yet. You might if you fall for their gambit, which is to get you to either buy something you don't need or download a file that will really mess you up for real.

Scareware

It's called “scareware,” for the obvious reason that the people behind the pop-ups are trying to scare you into taking action without thinking it through. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has devoted more time wrestling with this issue in recent months, the “free scan” will invariably find all sorts of problems on your computer that it says can be fixed by paying $40 for a special software.

Once you run the software you are told that all your problems have been fixed. Of course, there weren't any to begin with. But in some cases, that software you paid for could be loading all sorts of unwanted files on your computer.

According to Symantec, maker of Norton anti-virus products, the typical scareware pitch will always try to produce panic as a first response. The scammers will take great pains to produce very legitimate looking pop-up “alert” or “update” windows, the kind you might see from a legitimate anti-virus provider. But the tone will be a lot more alarming.

It can go from bad to worse

Besides spending $40 needlessly you've just handed over your credit or debit card information to a criminal enterprise. If the scammers choose to, they can hit your card for bogus charges or clean out your bank account.

In an emerging threat, they may even resort to extortion. The software you download might take over your PC and hold all your files hostage until you make a ransom payment to get control of your computer again.

Microsoft warns that it has seen cases where scareware, once downloaded to a victim's PC, has disabled Windows security updates and even disabled legitimate antivirus software. The company says the rogue software might also attempt to spoof the Microsoft security update process.

Be careful when searching for antivirus software

Rogue security software might also appear in the list of search results when you are searching for trustworthy antispyware software, so it is important to be selective about what software you choose. It should be a brand you are familiar with. If you haven't heard of it, look for online reviews from several different sources.

Who are the scammers behind scareware? Many are offshore, operating in Russia, China or other countries safely outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement. But every once in a while consumer authorities find domestic scareware operations.

Late last month a federal appeals court handed the FTC a victory when it upheld the $163 million judgment a lower court imposed against Kristy Ross for her role in a scareware operation. In 2008 the FTC charged Ross and six other defendants with running a scareware scheme that defrauded consumers. The other defendants either settled the charges or had default judgments entered against them.

If you have fallen victim to this scam, you may be able to undo the damage to your computer without professional help. Computer experts at Indiana University (IU) say scareware files can piggy-back with browser add-ons, custom social networking media or chat platforms, games, or online advertisements. Fortunately, they tend to be few in number, install themselves in one of a few possible hidden locations, and can be deleted easily once you're able to access and modify the file system.

The IU experts walk you through the process here.

If you're a regular Radio Shack customer, be warned: your nearby store might be one of the 1,100 the company intends to close. (Then again: statistically speaking, the chances of you or anyone you know being a Radio Shack customer are quite slim, which is why the company needs to close so many stores in the first place.)

The Wall Street Journal reported on March 4 that Radio Shack will close one-fifth of its U.S. stores after a disappointing 2013 holiday season left it with losses of $400 million last year.

Bad as it is now to be a Radio Shack customer, it's even worse to be an investor; the Journal also noted that the stock price fell 28 percent after the disappointing sales figures were released, and bond trading fell to 55 cents on the dollar (down from 66 cents on the dollar last month).

Leaner, meaner

Of course, Radio Shack hopes that closing “underperforming” stores will ultimately boost its profit margin and lead to a leaner, meaner and ultimately more successful company. But observers are less optimistic. Philly.com asked “Will RadioShack's 1,100 closings end in shutdown, like Circuit City?” and quoted a market analyst who compared the store closings and related matters to “Circuit City's convulsions in the months before its 2008 shutdown.”

Radio Shack did generate some buzz during the last Super Bowl, thanks to its 1980s-nostalgia ad showing Reagan-era pop-culture icons in a Reagan-era Radio Shack.

However, according to some quick back-of-the envelope math calculations, anyone in January 2014 who was old enough to personally remember patronizing Radio Shack in the 1980s is also old enough to be what advertisers call “much older than the coveted 18-to-34 marketing demographic.”

Or, as Time magazine's Henry McCracken noted: “RadioShack's Super Bowl ad revels in an uncomfortable truth: it's a 1980's throwback.”

Nostalgia is a useful marketing technique for some consumer products – maybe if you're hawking baked goods “just like Grandma used to make” – but it doesn't work when you're trying to sell cutting-edge electronics.

In a country where the obesity rate has generally increased each year since 2008, two states have taken the lead as the most and least obese.

For 2013, Mississippi had the nation's highest obesity rate at 35.4%, while Montana was the lowest at 19.6%, according to Gallup.com.

From 2010 through 2012, West Virginia maintained the highest obesity rate nationwide while Colorado had the lowest. Five states -- Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Kentucky -- have been listed among the 10 states with the highest obesity rates in the nation since 2008.

Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California have routinely been states with lower levels of obesity -- all four have made the list of the 10 states with the lowest obesity rates in the nation each year since 2008.

Rising obesity rate

The national obesity rate, as computed by respondents' self-reported height and weight in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, increased in 2013 to 27.1% from 26.2% in 2012, and is up 1.6% from 25.5% in 2008, Gallup's initial year of tracking. People with a BMI of 30 or higher are classified as obese.

More than two in 10 adults were obese in nearly every state last year, with the exception of Montana. Three in 10 adults were obese in 11 states -- Mississippi, West Virginia, Delaware, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Alaska -- compared with only five states in 2012.

Obesity rates continue to be highest in Southern and Midwestern states and lowest in Western and Northeastern states -- a trend that has been ongoing since Gallup and Healthways began tracking the obesity rate in 2008.

The sick states

People living in the 10 states with the highest levels of obesity are more likely to report having had a diagnosis of chronic disease at some point in their lives, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks, than are those living in the 10 states with the lowest obesity rates.

Data from Gallup-Healthways show an average 35.8% of those living in the 10 states with the highest obesity rates report a high blood pressure diagnosis, while 26.4% of people in the 10 least obese states say the same -- a difference of 9.4 points.

The healthy ones

Individuals living in the 10 states with the lowest rates of obesity also report higher instances of healthy eating and exercise than do those who live in the 10 states with the highest obesity levels.

For example, an average 66.7% of those living in the 10 least obese states say they ate healthy all day yesterday compared with 60.8% of those living in the 10 most obese states.

The cost of obesity

As the rate of obesity among adults continues to increase across all 50 states, health issues and costs associated with the chronic diseases that can accompany obesity will continue to rise. Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index data show people are not eating as healthily or exercising as often as in past years, which might play a role in the increase of national and state obesity rates.

"While there are a variety of factors that are often correlated with rising obesity rates, such as an unhealthy food environment, poor eating habits, increasing portion sizes, and inactivity, experts agree that the health consequences of obesity are real," Dr. James E. Pope, senior vice president and chief science officer at Healthways said. "Research has shown that the average healthcare costs for an obese individual are over $1,300 more annually than someone who is not obese. Although slowing and even reversing this trend may seem daunting, even modest weight loss of 5% to 10% of initial body weight can lower the health risks associated with obesity."  

Some startling new findings have emerged in a study of mental health risk and resilience conducted among U.S. military personnel.

According to the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS), the rise in suicide deaths from 2004 to 2009 occurred not only in currently and previously deployed soldiers, but also among soldiers never deployed. In fact, nearly half of soldiers who reported suicide attempts indicated their first attempt was prior to enlistment.

Additionally, soldiers reported higher rates of certain mental disorders than civilians, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intermittent explosive disorder (recurrent episodes of extreme anger or violence), and substance use disorder.

Army STARRS is largest study of mental health risk and resilience ever conducted among U.S. military personnel.

“These studies provide knowledge on suicide risk and potentially protective factors in a military population that can also help us better understand how to prevent suicide in the public at large,” said National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D. 

Turn of the century climb

Although historically, the suicide death rates in the U.S. Army have been below the civilian rate, the suicide rate in the U.S. Army began climbing in the early 2000s, and by 2008, it exceeded the demographically matched civilian rate (20.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 vs. 19.2). Concerns about this increase led to a partnership between the Army and the NIMH to identify risks.

A series of three JAMA Psychiatry articles reflect different strategies to evaluate information on suicide risk and potentially protective factors.

Army experience considered

An article by lead author Michael Schoenbaum of NIMH examined the suicide and accident death rates in relation to basic socio-demographic and Army experience factors in the 975,057 regular Army soldiers who served between Jan. 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2009.

This study found that the suicide rates increased during this time period, even among those who had never deployed, and also found that being deployed increased suicide risk for women more than it did for men. However, suicide risk still remained lower for deployed women than for deployed men.

Additionally, the study identified a correlation between demotion and suicide risk: soldiers who had been demoted in the past two years experienced increased suicide risk, compared to those without such demotions. There was also increased risk in soldiers without at least a high school diploma or a GED certificate, compared to soldiers with similar or higher degrees. The data suggest that being male, white, or a junior enlisted rank put individuals at the highest risk of suicide.

Pre-enlistment problems

The second article, by lead author Matthew Nock, Ph.D., at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., explains the findings from a survey of more than 5,000 non-deployed soldiers, designed to shed light on suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts before and after entering the Army. Recruitment interviews revealed that 13.9 percent of soldiers considered suicide at some point in their lifetime, 5.3% made a suicide plan, and 2.4% attempted suicide, with between 47 to 60% of these outcomes first occurring prior to joining the Army. Researchers found that soldiers attempting suicide appeared to be lower-ranking, enlisted, female, and to have been previously deployed.

Certain pre-enlistment mental disorders, including panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, linked to increased rates of suicide attempts after joining the Army. In fact, approximately one-third of post-enlistment suicide attempts tied back to pre-enlistment mental disorders. Pre- and post-enlistment mental disorders accounted for 60% of first suicide attempts in the Army.

The soldiers’ pre-enlistment patterns of suicidal thoughts and behaviors remained lower than suicidal thoughts and behaviors reported by a demographically matched civilian group. However, once in the Army, the onset of suicidal thoughts and planning became more common than among comparable civilians. Both groups had similar rates of suicide attempts.

Military vs. civilians

The last article, by lead author Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D., at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., describes a comparison of the same set of non-deployed soldiers and a group of similarly aged civilians. Rates of common mental disorders in the U.S. Army are compared with a demographically-matched civilian population from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a national household study that assesses mental disorders.

The Kessler study estimated how common certain mental health disorders are among Army soldiers, and whether the disorders developed prior to entering the Army. The most common disorders in soldiers included ADHD and intermittent explosive disorder. Almost 85% of those who self-identified as having had a mental health disorder reported that the problem began prior to joining the Army. For some of the disorders -- including ADHD, intermittent explosive disorder, and substance use disorder -- an early age of onset occurred more among soldiers than in civilians. The study also looked at role impairment, which is whether the disorders seriously affected the soldiers’ home life, work performance, social life, or close relationships. Severe role impairment was found to be substantially more common among soldiers with a mental disorder, than those without.

Although the root causes for the rise in Army suicides still remain unknown, these three studies point to risk factors, which may help identify potential protective factors, focus existing prevention programs, and foster the development of novel efforts to reduce suicide and suicidal thoughts and actions among service members at higher risk.

The frigid January weather didn't seem to have a cooling effect in home prices.

According to CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) report, prices nationwide -- including distressed sales -- shot up 12% in January from the same time a year earlier. That's 23 straight months of year-over-year increase.

Month-over-month, home prices across the country were up 0.9% in January from December 2013.

“Polar vortices and a string of snow storms did not manage to weaken house price appreciation in January,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The last time January month-over-month and year-over-year price appreciation was this strong was at the height of the housing bubble in 2006.”

Hitting new highs

At the state level, including distressed sales, Louisiana, Nebraska and Texas surpassed their previous home price peaks in January. In fact, 22 states and the District of Columbia are at or within 10% of their peak home price appreciation. Additionally, over the past year, 7 states -- Nevada, California, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Florida -- equaled or grew faster than the nation as a whole.

Excluding distressed sales, which include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions, home prices nationally were 9.8% higher this January than they were the year before and up 0.7% month over month.

January highlights

The January HPI also shows:

• Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Nevada (+22.2%), California (+20.3%), Oregon (+14.3%), Michigan (+13.7%) and Georgia (+13.4%).
• Including distressed sales, only Mississippi (-0.3%) posted home price depreciation in January 2014.
• Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Nevada (+17.2 %, California (+16.0%), Florida (+12.7%), Arizona (+11.5%) and Oregon (+11.4%). Excluding distressed sales, no states posted home price depreciation in January.
• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to January 2014) was -17.3%. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -13.3%.
• The five states with the largest peak-to-current declines, including distressed transactions, were Nevada (-40.1%), Florida (-36.4%), Arizona (-30.8%), Rhode Island (-30.5%) and West Virginia (-28.9%).
• Ninety-seven of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population showed year-over-year increases in January 2014. The three CBSAs that did not show an increase were New Haven-Milford, Conn., Philadelphia, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y.

Looking ahead

The CoreLogic Pending HPI indicates that February 2014 home prices -- including distressed sales -- are projected to increase 12.5% year over year from February 2013. On a month-over-month basis, home prices are expected to increase 0.7%. Excluding distressed sales, February 2014 home prices are poised to rise 10.4% year over year and 1.1% month over month from January.

“Home prices continued to march higher in January and we expect to see more increases as the market comes out of hibernation for the spring buying season,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Excluding distressed sales, all 50 states and the District of Columbia showed year-over-year home price appreciation for January.”

The nation's low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children will soon have better access to fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the changes being made to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are based on the latest nutrition science. This marks the completion of the first comprehensive revisions to the WIC food packages since 1980.

"The updates to the WIC food package make pivotal improvements to the program and better meet the diverse nutritional needs of mothers and their young children," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The foods provided by the WIC program -- along with education that focuses on the critical role of breastfeeding and proper nutrition -- help to ensure that every American child has the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong."

Multitude of changes

Along with a more than 30% increase in the dollar amount for children's fruits and vegetables purchases, the changes also:

• expand whole grain options available to participants,
• provide yogurt as a partial milk substitute for children and women,
• allow parents of older infants to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables instead of jarred infant food if they choose, and;
• give states and local WIC agencies more flexibility to meet the nutritional and cultural needs of WIC participants.

The revisions reflect public comments submitted in response to the first major changes in more than 30 years that were published as interim requirements in December 2007, which updated regulations governing WIC foods to align them more closely with updated nutrition science, recommendations of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Federal government's benchmark for healthy eating and nutrition.

WIC provides low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five with nutritious, supplemental foods.

The program also provides nutrition and breastfeeding education and referrals to health and social services. Over 8.5 million participants receive WIC benefits each month.  

American Express is coming out with a new rewards card aimed at what it calls the “busy mom” market, complete with an advertising campaign featuring real-life Busy Mom Tina Fey.

I'll admit to an inherent distrust anytime a company says it plans to take a gender-neutral product and market it specifically “to women,” which usually boils down to “color it pink and then quadruple the price.” (No exaggeration; when the Bic ballpoint pen company decided to market lady-specific pens called “Bic For Her,” it gave the pens pastel-colored casings and a price tag more than quadruple standard genderless Bic pens.)

To be fair, the forthcoming Amex EveryDay card seems to focus on substance rather than style: no word yet on what color the card will be, but The New York Times reports that this card is intended for the “multitasking, carpool-driving, Starbucks-hopping, grocery-shopping mom. To appeal to her, the card …. offers a twist on the standard rewards formula: In addition to earning one reward point per dollar charged (double points for supermarket purchases in the United States up to a total of $6,000) card holders will get 20 percent bonus reward points after making 20 or more purchases, no matter how small, in a single billing cycle.”

Pay in full

Side note: if you do use your credit card to pay for groceries or other daily-living expenses, make sure you pay off your balance in full, every month. 

Of course, you should always try paying off your balance in full anyway, to avoid paying the high interest charges credit cards apply otherwise. But it's especially important to avoid high-interest debt for everyday living expenses: carrying a balance for a couple months might be unavoidable if you have no cash reserves, so your card is the only way you can afford a necessary car repair or some other emergency expense. But if you do carry a balance, and thus make interest payments in addition to the actual price of whatever you bought, don't make it worse by adding ordinary grocery or gas charges to your bill; pay such expenses in cash until your credit card balance goes back down to zero.

American Express originally offered charge cards, an entirely different product from credit cards; charge cards have to be paid in full every month, whereas credit cards offer the dubious opportunity to carry debt over from month to month (and, if you carry the debt long enough, you end up paying interest charges higher than the original cost of whatever you bought). The EveryDay card is a credit card.

TheNew York Times also quoted Josh Silverman, Amex's president of consumer products and services, as saying this about the intended EveryDay card user: “She uses debit and credit cards about twice a day and more than 40 times a month.”

Twice a day? More than 40 times a month? What the hell is this woman buying? Ah, wait, she's a Starbucks drinker — one coffee per workday is at least 20 purchases a month right there.

If you're a financially strapped mom (or financially strapped dad, or childfree person for that matter), brewing and drinking your own coffee at home is a better financial move than getting an extra Amex reward point for every dollar you blow at Starbucks. But then, in all fairness, Amex said it's aiming the card at “busy” moms, rather than “moms whose financial outlook would be considerably improved if they'd cut back on discretionary spending, or at least stop putting it on a high-interest credit card.”

Why is it your partner gets a good, solid night of sleep while you toss and turn, unable to get any shut-eye?

Researchers at Johns Hopkins think it has to do with more plasticity and activity in the part of the brain that controls movement.

"Insomnia is not a nighttime disorder," says study leader Rachel E. Salas, M.D., an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "It's a 24-hour brain condition, like a light switch that is always on. Our research adds information about differences in the brain associated with it."

“Excitability” is a factor

Salas and her team, according to a report in the March issue of the journal Sleep, found that the motor cortex in those with chronic insomnia was more adaptable to change -- more plastic -- than in a group of good sleepers.

They also found more "excitability" among neurons in the same region of the brain among those with chronic insomnia, adding evidence to the notion that insomniacs are in a constant state of heightened information processing that may interfere with sleep.

Researchers say they hope their study opens the door to better diagnosis and treatment of the most common and often intractable sleep disorder that affects an estimated 15% of the U.S. population.

The sleep study

To conduct the study, Salas and her colleagues from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which painlessly and noninvasively delivers electromagnetic currents to precise locations in the brain and can temporarily and safely disrupt the function of the targeted area.

TMS is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat some patients with depression by stimulating nerve cells in the region of the brain involved in mood control.

The study included 28 adult participants -- 18 who suffered from insomnia for a year or more and 10 considered good sleepers with no reports of trouble sleeping. Each participant was outfitted with electrodes on their dominant thumb as well as an accelerometer to measure the speed and direction of the thumb.

The researchers then gave each subject 65 electrical pulses using TMS, stimulating areas of the motor cortex and watching for involuntary thumb movements linked to the stimulation. Subsequently, the researchers trained each participant for 30 minutes, teaching them to move their thumb in the opposite direction of the original involuntary movement. They then introduced the electrical pulses once again.

The idea was to measure the extent to which participants' brains could learn to move their thumbs involuntarily in the newly trained direction. The more the thumb was able to move in the new direction, the more likely their motor cortexes could be identified as more plastic.

The “aha moment”

Because lack of sleep at night has been linked to decreased memory and concentration during the day, Salas and her colleagues suspected that the brains of good sleepers could be more easily retrained. The results, however, were the opposite. The researchers found much more plasticity in the brains of those with chronic insomnia.

Salas says the origins of increased plasticity in insomniacs are unclear, and it is not known whether the increase is the cause of insomnia. It is also unknown whether this increased plasticity is beneficial, the source of the problem or part of a compensatory mechanism to address the consequences of sleep deprivation associated with chronic insomnia.

Patients with chronic phantom pain after limb amputation and with dystonia, a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements, also have increased brain plasticity in the motor cortex, but to detrimental effect.

Salas says it is possible that the dysregulation of arousal described in chronic insomnia -- increased metabolism, increased cortisol levels, constant worrying -- might be linked to increased plasticity in some way. Diagnosing insomnia is solely based on what the patient reports to the provider; there is no objective test. Neither is there a single treatment that works for all people with insomnia. Treatment can be a hit or miss in many patients, Salas says.

She says this study shows that TMS may be able to play a role in diagnosing insomnia, and more importantly, she says, potentially prove to be a treatment for insomnia, perhaps through reducing excitability.

A vehicle is a major purchase – for most consumers the second biggest they'll make. So getting it right is important. Buying a car you'll enjoy driving is always a plus, but meeting three other criteria may be even more important.

Safety is consideration No. 1. Both you and your passengers need to feel safe in all types of driving conditions. The good news is cars now are a lot safer than they used to be. Still, some are safer than others.

More to choose from

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently singled out 39 models as meeting its standards for a Top Safety Pick for 2014. The category requires good performance in the Institute's moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and, for the first time, good or acceptable performance in the small overlap front test introduced in 2012.

Winning top honors in the small car group is the Honda Civic 4-door. Among mid-size cars, the Ford Fusion and Infiniti Q50 share the honors. In the minivan category, the Honda Odyssey took top honors.

"Consumers who want both crash prevention technology and the latest in occupant protection have a fair number of vehicles to choose from," said IIHS President Adrian Lund, announcing the list back in December. "We hope manufacturers will continue to incorporate front crash prevention, developing more robust systems and adding them to more trim levels or, better yet, making them standard equipment."

MPG

Aside from being affordable to purchase, consumers generally need a car that is economical to operate. With fuel the major expense, getting a vehicle with good fuel economy is important. Once again, newer cars tend to offer that quality. These days the average mid-size sedan tends to get better than 30 miles per gallon (MPG), far better than a decade ago.

Generally, however, the smaller and lighter the car the better the mileage, and of course hybrid and electric motors help. Comparing the fuel economy in a sub compact to the mileage in an SUV is a bit like comparing apples to oranges.

So Kelley Blue Book (KBB) recently compiled a list of the elite mileage vehicles – those getting 40 MPG or better. Twenty-five cars made the list, which was dominated – not surprisingly – by hybrids and electrics. In fact, no gasoline/diesel-only models made the cut.

Topping the list was the Scion IQ EV, getting 121 MPG. Number two was the Honda Fit Electric Drive, at 118 MPG and the Mitsubishi I, getting 112 MPG.

Residual value

Finally, choosing a car that will hold its value preserves some of the money you're spending on the vehicle. It's a well-worn cliché that a car loses value the minute you drive it out of the showroom. Choosing wisely will limit how much that value falls that day – and the days that follow.

A lot of things go into residual value, including supply and demand. If you have a vehicle that a lot of people want to purchase as a used car, it will be worth more at trade-in time. Not spending a lot up front, it turns out, gets you the best return on the back end.

According to the latest edition of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Used Car Guide, three-year old subcompacts have the highest residual value, retaining 54.4% of the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for a typically equipped model. The electric vehicle (EV) segment ranked the lowest at 39.9%, perhaps because the demand just isn't there yet.

"Depreciation is often the No. 1 expense of owning a car, and understanding how a vehicle will retain its value over time should be considered," said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst of the NADA Used Car Guide.

The top three performers in the subcompact segment are the Honda Fit, Scion xB and Kia Soul. The Subaru Impreza, a compact, scored as the top value-retaining vehicle among all classes and segments at 63.5%. Among luxury cars , the nod went to the Lexus IS and the Lexus CT for hybrids and EVs. The Subaru Legacy also topped the midsize car segment with a value retention rate of 60.9%.