Current Events in June 2014

Hey, do you remember when hackers broke into the customer database of mega-retailer Target, thus compromising the financial security of umpty-million Target shoppers?

Of course you remember. Nobody's had time to forget it yet, because it's only been a few months since news first came out of the breach, and in those few months, pretty much every single media outlet in the English-speaking world has published multiple stories and articles about the security breach and its aftermath, so that today, if you type the words “Target hacked” (sans quotation marks) into an online search engine you'll get over 4.85 million results, or 3.01 million in a search for “Target database breach.”

Among those millions of news reports are a handful or so published by this very website. And almost all such reports, by us or anybody else, include a particular piece of super-important advice directed at the intended reader: if you used a credit card to buy anything from Target during the affected time period, there are certain simple, basic steps you must take to protect yourself from fraud, especially now with this extremely high chance your own information is in the hands of a hacker or carding shop customer or some other thief out to make an illegal profit at your expense.

Sound asleep

Now, take a guess: about what percentage of affected or potentially affected Target customers have ignored all such warnings, and not done anything to protect themselves? “Probably a tiny percentage,” you might think. “Three or four percent, tops? Surely the vast majority of Target customers were responsible, and took this threat seriously enough to spend the 15 seconds required to change their password, right?”

Make that “almost 80 percent,” according to a survey by IDRadar, a Denver-based identity-theft-protection company. Government Security News saw the survey on June 5 and noted:

“Over 260 million people have been victims of data breaches and increased risk of identity theft since the Target revelations, yet nearly 80 percent have done nothing to protect their privacy or to guard their financial accounts from fraud …. The poll showed that most people don't even take the time to change their passwords .... 70 percent of consumers say they still use their debit cards, despite the warnings by retailers of the increased risk of debit over credit cards.”

And, of course, the Target breach isn't the only recent major security threat ignored by far too many people, in the same way that the lone ant you saw on a sidewalk yesterday isn't the only crawling insect in your town: similar lack-of-response can be found among those potentially affected by the Heartbleed security flaw, the Experian data breach and – well, pretty much every such threat to ever make the news.

Parents' natural inclination is to provide a clean and safe environment for their babies but a new study suggests that exposure to dirt, dander and germs in the first year of life may be less likely to suffer from allergies, wheezing and asthma later in life.

A report on the study, conducted by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other institutions, published on June 6 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, reveals that early exposure to bacteria and certain allergens may have a protective effect by shaping children's immune responses — a finding that researchers say may help inform preventive strategies for allergies and wheezing, both precursors to asthma.

"Our study shows that the timing of initial exposure may be critical," says study author Robert Wood, M.D., chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. "What this tells us is that not only are many of our immune responses shaped in the first year of life, but also that certain bacteria and allergens play an important role in stimulating and training the immune system to behave a certain way."

Healthy farmers

Previous research has shown that children who grow up on farms have lower allergy and asthma rates, a phenomenon attributed to their regular exposure to microorganisms present in farm soil.

Other studies, however, have found increased asthma risk among inner-city dwellers exposed to high levels of roach and mouse allergens and pollutants.

The new study confirms that children who live in such homes do have higher overall allergy and asthma rates but adds a surprising twist: Those who encounter such substances before their first birthdays seem to benefit rather than suffer from them.

Importantly, the protective effects of both allergen and bacterial exposure were not seen if a child's first encounter with these substances occurred after age 1, the research found.

Study details

The study was conducted among 467 inner-city newborns from Baltimore, Boston, New York and St. Louis whose health was tracked over three years.

The investigators visited homes to measure the levels and types of allergens present in the infants' surroundings and tested them for allergies and wheezing via periodic blood and skin-prick tests, physical exams and parental surveys. In addition, the researchers collected and analyzed the bacterial content of dust collected from the homes of 104 of the 467 infants in the study.

Infants who grew up in homes with mouse and cat dander and cockroach droppings in the first year of life had lower rates of wheezing at age 3, compared with children not exposed to these allergens soon after birth.

Asthma is one of the most common pediatric illnesses, affecting some 7 million children in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By the time they turn 3, up to half of all children develop wheezing, which in many cases evolves into full-blown asthma.

A good rating in the challenging small overlap front crash test and a standard front crash prevention system have earned the 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIIHS) "Top Safety Pick+" award.

The large luxury car also earned good ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations.

Beginning with 2014 models manufactured after January, Mercedes strengthened the footwell area of the occupant compartment to improve protection in small overlap front crashes. These changes apply to the 4-door E-Class models.

Driver well-protected

In the small overlap test, the driver's space was maintained well. Injury measures recorded on the driver dummy indicated that lower leg injuries would be possible in a real-world crash of this severity.

The dummy's head was reasonably controlled by the frontal airbag, but it rotated around and hit the vehicle's A-pillar because the head and torso moved too far forward. The side curtain airbag deployed to protect the head from contact with other side structures.

Despite the head contact, risk of significant injuries to the head and chest was low.

A standard forward collision warning system, called Collision Prevention Assist, earns the E-Class a basic rating for front crash prevention. When equipped with the optional Pre-Safe Brake system, the E-Class earns a superior rating for front crash prevention.

The E-Class is the fourth large luxury car to earn the Institute's highest award for 2014. To qualify, a vehicle must earn a good or acceptable rating for small overlap protection, a good rating in the Institute's other four tests, and a basic, advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.

For a lot of people, growing older means having to take more medications. And that can bring some serious problems -- like harmful drug interactions.

And, as we age, body changes can affect the way medicines are absorbed, leading to potential complications. For instance, your liver and kidneys may not work as well, which affects how a drug breaks down and leaves your body. And changes in your digestive system can affect how fast drugs get to your bloodstream.

“There is no question that physiology changes as we age,” explains Rear Admiral (Ret.) Sandra L. Kweder, M.D., F.A.C.P., deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of New Drugs. “Many chronic medical conditions don’t even appear until our later years. It’s not that people are falling to pieces; some changes are just part of the normal aging process.”

What to do

Here are four tips that can help keep you safe as you take your meds.

Take medicine as prescribed

Take your medicine regularly and according to your health care provider’s instructions. Don’t skip doses or stop taking medication without first consulting with your provider. (This holds true even if you’re feeling better or if you think the medicine isn’t working.)

“Medication can’t work unless you take it,” Kweder says. “For instance, medications that treat chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes typically only work when taken regularly and as directed. You have to take them continuously to maintain control over your condition.”

Dosing for medications is based on clinical trials, which FDA reviews. “Every medicine is really different and is dosed according to what’s been tested,” says Kweder, which is one reason why you shouldn’t select a dose yourself.

If you’re having bothersome side effects or have other questions, talk to your health care provider.

Keep a medication list

Write down what you’re taking and keep the list with you. Consider giving a copy to a friend or loved one that you trust -- an important step especially in case of emergency and when you’re traveling.

Record the medicine’s brand name, if applicable, and generic name. Also write down how often and what dosage you take. (For instance, one pill daily, 300 mg.)

Finally, note when you take each drug. “You should know your medicines better than the doctor does,” says Kweder.

Be aware of potential interactions

Remember, as you age, you’re at higher risk for drug interactions.

Interactions can occur when:

• One drug affects how another drug works;
• A medical condition you have makes a certain drug potentially harmful;
• A food or non-alcoholic drink reacts with a drug;
• A medicine interacts with an alcoholic drink.

Your task? Learn which interactions are possible. You can do this by carefully reading drug facts labels on over-the-counter drugs and the information that comes with your prescription medications, and by reviewing any special instructions with your health care provider.

For instance nitroglycerin, which treats angina (chest pain related to heart disease), should not be taken with many erectile dysfunction drugs, including Viagra and Cialis, because serious interactions can occur. And some drugs should not be taken with alcohol, as symptoms such as loss of coordination and memory loss can result.

If you’re seeing multiple health care providers, tell each one about all of your medications and supplements. You also can ask your pharmacist about potential interactions.

Review medications with your health care provider

Schedule at least one annual review of your medications with your health care provider to confirm which medications are still necessary and which you can stop taking (if any).

If a certain medication seems out of your budget, ask your health care provider whether there is a cheaper, and still effective, alternative.

This review can help you avoid interactions and can lessen costs. Sometimes, especially if you’re seeing multiple providers, certain questions can fall through the cracks, says Kweder. But, she says, there is no such thing as a stupid question about medicine.

“As a society, we have become reliant on pharmaceuticals to help us attain a longer and higher-quality life. It’s a wonderful success of Western medicine,” she concludes. “The goal should be for each of us to access that benefit but respect that medicines are serious business. To get the most out of them, you should take them with great care and according to directions.”

While it wasn't as strong as April, May was a good month for job creation.

Figures released by the Labor Department (DOL) show total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 217,000 last month while the unemployment rate was steady at 6.3%. The May figure put job creation over the 200,000 mark for the fourth consecutive month.

There were 282,000 new jobs in April, a downward revision from the intiially reported 288,000.

The jobs

The strongest gains were seen in professional and business services, which added 55,000 jobs in May,

health care and social assistance (+55,000), food services and drinking places (+32,000) and transportation and warehousing (+)16,000 .

Manufacturing employment was little-changed over the month but has added 105,000 jobs over

the past year, including 17,000 in durable goods. Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities, and government, also showed little change in May.

Workers and non-workers

The unemployment rate held at 6.3%, after falling 0.4% in April. The number of people out of work was unchanged in May at 9.8 million. Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people has fallen by 1.2% and 1.9 million, respectively.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (5.9%), adult women (5.7%), teenagers (19.2%), whites (5.4%), blacks (11.5%), Hispanics (7.7%) and Asians (5.3%) percent were little-changed in May.

The civilian labor force participation rate was unchanged in May, at 62.8%. While the participation rate has shown no clear trend since October, it is down by 0.6% over the year. The employment-population ratio, at 58.9%, was also unchanged in May and has changed little over the year.

The complete May employment report is available on the DOL website.

Rite Aid is recalling approximately 560 16-oz. pints of Mint ‘n Chip ice cream distributed under the Thrifty brand name.

These pints contain pistachio ice cream; however, the ice cream was inadvertently placed in containers labeled as being Mint ‘n Chip. People who are allergic to nuts may run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product.

The recall affects only 16-oz. Mint ‘n Chip ice cream pints sold exclusively in Rite Aid stores in California.

Affected products can be identified by the UPC code 1182264327 located on the back of each pint. The affected products also contain the lot number 24273 and an expiration date of Oct. 28, 2015, located on the bottom of the pints.

Consumers who are allergic to nuts, including pistachios, should not consume these pints and can return them to any Rite Aid store for a full refund.

Consumers may call calling 1-800-RITE-AID Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST for more information.

A week ago most economists were shocked when the government reported its latest estimate of first quarter economic growth. There wasn't any.

First quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the total of goods and services sold in the economy, declined 1%.

Wall Street shrugged it off. The decline was blamed on the winter's harsh weather. But could it be something more serious?

The definition of a recession is two straight quarters of negative growth, meaning if the second quarter, which started June 1, has a similar result we're in a recession.

While there is no assurance that will happen, economists have to ask if economic conditions are getting any better. The stock market continues to defy gravity and break through record highs but other indicators are not quite so promising.

Take the consumer, for example. The economy depends on consumers to spend money, creating demand for goods and services. That demand drives economic growth.

Shocking survey

In light of that, the results of the "How Housing Matters Survey," commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation, are shocking. A large number of consumers are struggling simply to keep a roof over their head.

Six in 10 consumers responding to the survey said it is at least fairly likely for a family that is struggling to keep their housing to have to take on an additional job or hours at work, stop saving for retirement, accumulate credit card debt, or cut back on health care just to make ends meet.

Fifty-five percent said a family would have to cut back on healthy, nutritious food, and just fewer than 2 in 5 believe such a family will probably have to move to a neighborhood that is less safe or has worse schools.

The survey suggests that consumers – whether they own a home or rent – have to pay more of their income for housing, leaving less for other things that normally drive the economy.

Paying more than 30% of your income on housing is an established benchmark of financial distress. Of the consumers in that category, 62% of owners and 74% of renters have made sacrifices on things like food, healthcare and retirement savings to stay afloat.

Consumers disagree with the experts

While most economists and housing experts believe the housing crisis is behind us, many consumers believe otherwise. When queried, 70% said we are still in the midst of the housing crisis with 51% believing it's going to get worse.

Housing costs aren't the only expense putting the squeeze on consumers. It continues to cost more to put fuel in the car.

According to AAA, the national average price of self-serve regular started 2014 at $3.30 a gallon. Today, the national average has increased 36 cents a gallon, adding $7.20 to the cost of a 20-gallon fill-up.

Food costs have also surged this year – at least many of the foods that consumers tend to buy. The CRB/BLS Foodstuffs Index, which tracks key food commodity prices, is up nearly 21% since December 2013.

Last month the Agriculture Department reported supermarket prices for beef and pork set record highs. The average price of both beef and pork surged 3% from March to April. The cost of both are up 13% in the last 12 months.

Stagnant wages

Unfortunately, the average consumer isn't getting raises to cover these increased costs. In its most recent report the Commerce Department said personal income growth was an anemic 0.3% in April, among the weakest of the year.

Gasoline prices up 10% in five months. Meat prices up 13% in a year. Incomes growing little, or not at all.

If we've slipped into a recession, it shouldn't come as a big surprise.

Add New Jersey to the growing list of states looking at third-party energy suppliers with a sharper eye — or even taking them to court.

Pretty much everybody in the United States has the option to buy electricity from their local regulated utility provider — that's why most people still talk about “the electric company” rather than “an electric company.” In most places, that regulated utility provider has a legal, regulated monopoly: nobody else is allowed to enter the business.

Economics 101 says that monopolies are generally bad for consumers, but the consumer disadvantages of legal utility monopolies are supposed to be offset by strict regulations on them: if you don't like the electric company, you cannot take your business elsewhere (short of moving out of the area), but you can complain to various government agencies established specifically to oversee the electric company and other utility monopolies.

However, customers in some states have the option of choosing their electric provider: instead of your local regulated utility, you can sign on with a third-party energy provider — usually electricity, though in certain areas with natural-gas utilities, third-party gas providers are also allowed. There may be many reputable third-party energy providers out there, whose customers genuinely enjoy bargains compared to their local regulated utility (or at least don't pay anything more than the regulated customers).

After the fact

Unfortunately, there's also a lot of third-party energy customers who say they're paying unfairly high rates. Part of the problem is that electricity and other utilities tend to be pay-after-the-fact services: you don't get the bill until after you've used the electricity, by which point it's too late to back out upon realizing you can't afford it. And – as many third-party customers have learned to their dismay – entering into a third-party service contract is often much easier than getting out of it.

Legislators in Connecticut recently passed a bill to protect third-party residential customers from unannounced rate increases and similar tricks, and in May, the Illinois Citizens Utility Board released a damning study of certain third-party energy providers in that state after reporting a 115% increase in customer complaints about them.

And on June 4, the New Jersey attorney general's office, working with the state's Division of Consumer Affairs and the Board of Public Utilities, announced their filing of a lawsuit against three unregulated energy suppliers, listed as Palmco Power NJ, LLC & Palmco Energy NJ, LLC (collectively, “Palmco”); HIKO Energy LLC (“HIKO”); and Keil & Sons, Inc., d/b/a Systrum Energy (“Systrum”), all of whom allegedly “defrauded hundreds of consumers through misrepresentations of monthly bill reductions.”

Indeed, if you've read any of our previous coverage of third-party energy complaints, you'll recognize what Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said about those three Garden State companies: “These three companies allegedly lured consumers with promised monthly savings that turned out to be fictional. Even worse, consumers who hoped to save money instead saw their bills increase to unconscionable levels.”

Anytime you hear a computer-product company promise to release some dazzlingly innovative new whatever onto the market, you must be careful not to get too excited in case it turns out to be just another piece of vaporware — a promised and much-hyped hardware or software release that either fails to live up to the hype, or is never released at all.

At any rate, Amazon has (or maybe has) something new in its development pipeline: a hologram smartphone that will supposedly make images appear in 3-d without your having to wear special glasses.

For example: over in the UK, The Register reported the news with the breathless headline “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi! HOLOGAPHIC 3-D PHONE hints in Amazon vid.”

Despite the Princess Leia reference, there's no indication that Amazon is promising a device similar to the [science-fictional] one made famous in Star Wars: press a button (or swipe a touchscreen) and anyone in the room with you can see what appears to be a tiny person, moving around on your tabletop.

But Amazon did release a 50-second video on YouTube, showing various attractive, intelligent-looking people gazing down at an unidentified offscreen something and exclaiming over how wonderful, real-life, amazing, intuitive and similar adjectives that unidentified something is.

Story continues below video

The actors' body language suggests this amazingness has something to do with perspective: one woman, while looking down at the mystery device, kept moving her head and torso from side to side, as though looking at the device from different angles (all of which she found equally impressive).

The video is titled “Find out what these Amazon customers are talking about,” and ends with the promise that whatever they're discussing will be revealed on June 18.

The 3-d phone guesses presumably stem not only from the actors' behavior in the video, but due to an early-May report, originally in the Wall Street Journal, saying Amazon was developing “retina-tracking technology” which, from a viewers' perspective, would make it appear as though images were hovering above a smartphone screen.

It's hard to find a surface in California that doesn't already have at least one sticker warning that there may be harmful substances nearby but another such warning may be on the way.

The state Senate passed the “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Safety Warning Act” last week and sent it to the Assembly.

The measure would require that any sweetened non-alcoholic beverage that contains 75 calories or more per 12 fluid ounces be labeled with the words, “Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.”

The label would not apply to 100% fruit or vegetable juices, dietary aids, infant formulas, or “any beverage whose principal ingredient by weight is milk.”

Would anyone actually bother to read the warnings? A survey commissioned by Jamba Juice suggests that they might. The juicemaker released a survey conducted by YouGov that found Americans already suspect that something has been added to the juice they buy.

The survey also found that consumers are looking to nutrition juice labels on soft drinks and juices:

• 78% read juice labels at least sometimes;
• 54% read them often or always; and
• only 9% never read juice labels.

"Uniquely harmful"

The California bill was introduced in February by state Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and was co-sponsored by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), the California Medical Association, the California Black Health Network and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.

“This is about the uniquely harmful effects of liquid sugar,” CCPHA Executive Director Harold Goldstein said, because scientific evidence points to sugary beverages increasing LDL cholesterol and dramatically raising the amount of fat in the liver.

Diabetes rates have tripled in the past 30 years, and one-fourth of teenagers today have diabetes or prediabetes. And a recent study shows that, of hospitalized Californians, one in three has the disease.

You know the drill. When it's time to buy a car you go to the dealer and kick some tires, maybe take a test drive. Sooner or later it comes down to “how much?”

The salesman gives you a number, you come back with a counter offer. The salesman retreats to talk with the sales manager. Eventually you come up with a price both can live with.

More than a few consumers find the whole thing distasteful. Automotive site Edmunds.com surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults and found consumers rank buying a vehicle more stressful than getting married, going on a first date or watching their team in a close championship game.

Hate it

The survey suggests shoppers least like the haggling part. Millennial consumers hate it the most with 91% saying they would try to avoid it. One in 5 consumers would rather give up sex for a month than bargain with a car salesman and 33% said they would rather make a trip to the DMV.

Not surprisingly some car dealers have pushed the concept of no-haggle pricing. And why not?

It makes the consumer more comfortable, since they know they aren't going to have to take part in the negotiating drama. Best of all for the dealer, it gets to say what the no-haggle price is.

Used car retailer Carmax pioneered the concept of no-haggle pricing. As the company says on its website, you get a fair price up front without having to negotiate for it.

Carmax lists the Kelly Blue Book value of the vehicle and then its no-haggle price, which is usually slightly less. Could you get a better deal by going to a traditional car lot?

Probably, but it all depends on the dealer and the car – whether the model happens to be in demand or not and how eager the dealer is to move it.

No one pays the sticker price

When shopping for a new car there is also a good bit of wiggle room. You start with the sticker price, but no one pays that. So it's up to the consumer to figure out what a fair price for the vehicle is and hold out for that.

That's not always easy. Sites like Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book can tell you what the MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price) is, but it's up to you to figure out how much less the dealer is willing to accept.

Even assuming that after hours of haggling you can get the dealer to accept a lower price, the dealer can recoup much of that on your trade in or with assorted fees.

TrueCar.com

Truecar.com came along in 2011, promising prospective car buyers it would do the hagging for them. Car dealers were horrified, a sign the company was on to something.

Buyers could go to Truecar.com and see what the dealer actually paid for the car. TrueCar then sent the lowest prices to the consumer. Some dealer associations and manufacturers threatened lawsuits, and eventually TrueCar changed its business model.

According to Inc. Magazine, TrueCar determined that consumers really weren't looking for the lowest price on a car, they just wanted to be sure the price they were paying was fair.

According to Inc., TrueCar's new business model tells consumers what a “fair” price for the vehicle is, and refers them to two or three dealers who will honor it, no haggling required.

Stepping into the haggling void left by TrueCar is a site called HaggleDaddy.com. The company says it takes the description of a consumer's ideal vehicle and negotiates with multiple dealerships within a defined geographical area to get the best deal.

In other words, it does the haggling for you. Does it save you money? There have been no independent studies to answer that question but it would seem that, in most cases, haggling -- whether by the consumer or a third party -- will save some money.

If a dealer too readily accepts a no-haggle deal, chances are you're leaving money on the table.

Then again, if you hate the give and take that has traditionally gone into buying a car, getting a “fair” price might be just as good as getting the best price.

You've seen the story countless times: “Keep an extra-sharp eye on your credit card activity! There's been another hacking.” The only difference is in the details: which particular retailer, service provider, financial entity, data broker or governmental institution got hacked? For how long? And how many customers got hurt this time?

You know why the hackers keep doing this: so they can use your personal information, such as credit card numbers, to fraudulently obtain money or other valuables for themselves. But have you ever wondered exactly how a criminal armed with nothing more than “your credit card number” uses that to steal things?

Security blogger Brian Krebs spent some time undercover (in the online sense of the word) at a professional “carding shop,” an online black market where unscrupulous people buy and sell stolen data to each other. As the name suggests, carding shops specifically focus on stolen credit card data.

Krebs investigated a particular carding shop called McDumpal's (“dump” is slang for the strings of data fraudulently lifted off the magnetic strips on the backs of most American credit cards).

Of course the thieves who operate McDumpal's have absolutely no affiliation with McDonald's hamburgers — despite McDumpal's using an obvious ripoff of the Golden Arches logo over the slogan “I'm swipin' it.”

Krebs made a slideshow of what he found at McDumpal's — in addition to providing a detailed written account of how the business works (other than the obvious “Try not to get caught, or even noticed by, the law-enforcement agencies of any country in the world, because you're a thief and what you're doing is rightfully illegal everywhere”).

Krebs' story and slideshow are definitely worth checking out if you have the time — although hopefully, in a couple of years words like “dumps” to refer to data stolen from magnetic credit-card strips will be completely obsolete, if and when all major American card providers make good on earlier promises to switch away from magnetic strips in lieu of adopting EMV chip technology.

Honda and Mercedes lead the way in a survey of new-vehicle buyers for quality and value.

Honda topped the rankings of mainstream brands, followed by Toyota, Volkswagen, Subaru, GMC, Ford, Buick, Nissan, Mazda and Chevrolet, according to the ALG study.

Mercedes-Benz was first among luxury brands, followed by Lexus, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Maserati, Infiniti and Acura.

"There are several measures of vehicle quality in the marketplace, measuring everything from long-term durability to fit and finish.  However, when it comes to forecasting vehicle value for a brand, the data shows that perception, more so than reality, is a much better predictor," ALG, a division of TrueCar, said in a statement accompanying the findings.

“When consumers buy a car, brand perception directly impacts how quickly the vehicle will depreciate,” ALG President Larry Dominique said. "When deciding on a car purchase, consumers need to consider more than just build quality -- they need to consider how the brand is perceived in the marketplace.”

The study was based on a survey of 30,000 recent car buyers.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra says 15 people “who were determined to have acted inappropriately” in connection with the Cobalt ignition switch recall are no longer with the company.

In addition, disciplinary actions have been taken against five other employees.

After receiving the what she called the "extremely thorough, brutally tough, and deeply troubling" findings of an investigation by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas, Barra again expressed deep sympathy for the victims of accidents related to the ignition switch defect and their families.

She also announced that Kenneth Feinberg will administer a compensation program for those who have lost loved ones or who have suffered serious physical injuries as the result of an ignition switch failure in recently recalled vehicles.

Riddled with failure

“Overall the report found that, from start to finish, the Cobalt saga was riddled with failures which led to tragic results for many,” Barra said. But she also pointed out that the report revealed no conspiracy by the company to cover up the facts and no evidence that any employee made a trade-off between safety and cost.

Barra says the company has adopted and will continue to adopt sweeping changes in the way it handles safety issues. The actions to date include:

• Appointing Jeff Boyer as Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety, elevating and integrating GM’s safety processes under a single leader
• Adding 35 product safety investigators that will allow GM to identify and address issues much more quickly
• Instituting the Speak up for Safety program encouraging employees to report potential safety issues quickly and forcefully
• Creating a new Global Product Integrity organization to enhance overall safety and quality performance, and
• Restructuring the recall decision making process to raise it to the highest levels of the company.

In remarks to GM employees, Barra said she is committed to leading "in a way that brings honor and respect to this company.”

In a case that's being closely watched by Herbalife investors, a federal appeals court has upheld a district court ruling that BurnLounge operated a pyramid scheme that cost consumers millions of dollars.

The court order permanently halted the defendants’ marketing methods, which the Federal Trade Commission said lured more than 56,000 consumers by pretending to be a legitimate multi-level marketing program and making misleading claims about how much money participants could earn.

In the BurnLounge case, the FTC alleged that the operation was nothing more than a pyramid scheme, with independent sales "consultants" making most of their money by recruiting new salespeople rather than by actually selling music.

"Proper practices"

Herbalife said that the BurnLounge ruling “is consistent with Herbalife’s position that the widespread demand Herbalife has demonstrated for its products, by members and non-members alike, confirms that it is a multilevel marketing company with proper business practices.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's ruling read, in part: “We agree with the district court that BurnLounge was an illegal pyramid scheme . . . because BurnLounge’s focus was recruitment, and because the rewards it paid in the form of cash bonuses were tied to recruitment rather than the sale of merchandise.”

The appeals court found that the legal test of a pyramid scheme does not require that the rewards be “completely” unrelated to the sale of products.

The court noted that “[r]ecruiting was built into the compensation structure in that recruiting led to eligibility for cash rewards, and more recruiting led to higher rewards.” The court further stated that in this instance “the rewards for recruiting were ‘unrelated’ to sales to ultimate users because BurnLounge incentivized recruiting participants, not product sales.”

Pink slips were flying in May as job cuts shot to their highest level in more than a year.

Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports US-based employers announced plans to reduce payrolls by 52,961 last month -- up 31% from April. It marked the second consecutive increase in monthly job cuts and the largest one-month total since February 2013.

The May total also was was 46% higher than the 36,398 job cuts announced in May 2013. So far this year, employers have announced a total of 214,600 planned terminations -- 2.3% fewer than during the first five months of last year.

Tech sector slammed

The heaviest downsizing occurred in the technology sector, where computer firms announced plans to cut payrolls by 18,799. Hewlett-Packard, which has announced several large-scale workforce reductions in recent years, revealed plans to cut as many 16,000 workers in its continuing efforts to “reengineer the workforce to be more competitive.”

The May total for the computer industry was the largest since May 2012, when cuts reached 27,754, due primarily to another large job-cut announcement from Hewlett-Packard.

The computer industry now leads all others in year-to-date job cuts, with 29,863. The retail sector trails closely with 25,696 job cuts announced this year.

“Five-figure job-cut announcements, such as Hewlett-Packard’s last month, have been rare since the recession ended in 2009,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “The last time we saw a figure on this scale was February 2013, when JP Morgan Chase announced a large reduction in the number of bankers in its mortgage unit, most of whom were hired in the wake of the recession to deal with the flood of foreclosures and the refinancing of troubled loans,”

Slowdown in downsizing

Despite the May, the overall pace of downsizing has slowed from year ago.

“While some industries, including computer, have seen an increase in job cuts, most of last year’s leading job-cut industries have experienced a decline,” said Challenger. “And, as we approach the midway point of the year, we do not expect a second-half surge in downsizing unless there is a sudden and severe shock to the economy.”

Challenger says several recent reports suggest continued growth in the coming months. Factory orders increased for the third consecutive month in April and automakers are reporting strong sales. A report on Tuesday indicated that small businesses saw its strongest hiring push in more than a year, as these firms added 35,000 workers to their payrolls. That nearly triples the average 12,000 workers added per month since April 2010.

“Moreover,” Challenger concludes, “the latest report on metropolitan area unemployment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that there are now 118 metro areas with unemployment rates below 5.0%. All of this bodes well for the nation’s job seekers.”

Initial jobless claims

More people found themselves in the unemployment line last week.

The government reports 312,000 first-time claims for unemployment benefits were filed in the week ending May 31 -- a jump of 8,000 from the week before. That was generally in line with economists' expectations.

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile than the weekly figure and considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, fell by 2,250 to 310,250 -- the lowest level since June 2, 2007 when it was 307,500.

The complete report is available on the Labor Department website.

After adding more than 200,000 jobs in April, the economy cooled in May, creating just 179,000 payroll positions, according to the ADP National Employment Report.

Produced in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, using ADP’s actual payroll data, the report measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

"After a strong post-winter rebound in April, job growth in May slowed somewhat,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. “The 179,000 jobs added figure is higher than May of last year and in line with the average over the past twelve months.”

Goods and services

Goods-producing employment rose by 8,000 jobs in May -- to 29,000. The construction industry added 14,000 jobs over the month, while, manufacturing hired 10,000 people -- the largest number since last December.

Service-providing employment slipped from April's level, with 150,000 jobs created in May, compared with 194,000 the month before. Professional/ business services contributed the most to the lower overall number in May -- adding 46,000 jobs. Trade/transportation/utilities employment grew by 35,000, and financial activities grew by 6,000 positions.

Where jobs were created

Payroll growth for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased in May -- adding 82,000 jobs, 6,000 more than in April, nearly reaching the 12-month average of 84,000.

Job growth slowed over the month for medium-sized and large firms. Employment among medium-sized companies with 50-499 employees rose by 61,000, and employment at large companies -- those with 500 or more employees -- increased by 37,000.

Companies with 500-999 employees eliminated 3,000 jobs after adding 23,000 in April.

"Job growth moderated in May,” noted Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “The slowing in growth was concentrated in Professional/Business Services and companies with 50-999 employees. The job market has yet to break out from the pace of growth that has prevailed over the last three years.”

Health Matters America of Cheektowaga, N.Y., is recalling Organic Traditions Sprouted Chia Seed Powder and Sprouted Chia/Flax Seed Powder.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The products included in this recall include:

• ORGANIC TRADITIONS SPROUTED CHIA SEED POWDER Lot numbers BIO13SBCS275, BIO13SBCS290, BIO14SBCS290, BIO13SBCS310, BIO13SBCS330, BIO13SBCS353, BIO13SBCS364; NET WT. 8 oz. UPC 854260006162, and NET WT. 16 oz. UPC 854260005462; and cartons containing 50 LB. bulk bags;
• ORGANIC TRADITIONS SPROUTED CHIA & FLAX SEED POWDER Lot numbers BIO13SFCB273, BIO13SFCB288, BIO13SFCB305, BIO13SFCB310, BIO13SFCB345, BIO13SFCB350; NET WT. 8 oz. UPC 854260006216, and NET WT. 16 oz. UPC 854260005479; and cartons containing 50 LB. bulk bags;

The recalled products were sold to distributors, retailers, and through Internet sales in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Consumers who purchased any of these products should not consume them, but discard them or return them to the point of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-888-343-3278, ext. 730, Monday – Friday, 9am –5pm ET.

phil&teds of Fort Collins, Colo., is recalling about 387 phil&teds Travel System 26 infant car seat adaptors for strollers in the U.S. and Canada.

The plastic adaptors used to connect an infant car seat to a stroller can crack, become unstable and break during use, posing a fall hazard to infants.

The company has received two reports of the adaptors crack and breaking when stored in freezing weather conditions.

This recall involves phil&teds Travel System 26 (TS26) adaptors used to attach infant car seats to the following phil&teds stroller models: the Classic, Dot, Explorer, Hammerhead, Navigator, S3 and S4. Compatible car seats include the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix, Maxi Cosi Mico, Maxi Cosi Pebble and Cybex Anton.

The adaptors are two pieces of black plastic, one for the left side and one for the right side, that connect the stroller to the car seat. “TS26,” “philandteds,” “L” for left, “R” for right and UPC “9 420015 7 4004” are printed on the adaptors.

The adaptors, manufactured in China, were sold at baby product and specialty stores nationwide, and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Diapers.com and phil&teds.com from April 2013, through March 2014, for about $40.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled adaptor and contact phil&teds for free replacement adaptors.

Consumers may contact phil&teds toll-free at (855) 652-9019 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday.