Current Events in July 2014

Of all the various scams you must know to be on guard against, the “kidnapping scam” is arguably one of the sleaziest: you get a phone call telling you that [name of beloved family member] has just been kidnapped, and will be tortured or killed unless you immediately wire money to some untraceable account.

The good news in such instances is that your family member was never in any danger, and probably never even knew about the supposed “kidnapping,” but that does not save you from the emotional horror of fearing for their safety, not the mention the financial damage of paying the “ransom.”

This week, four extortionists in San Diego pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money-laundering charges for running their own kidnapping scam against Latino families all across the United States. Ruth Graciela Raygoza, age 63; Maria Del Carmen Pulido Contreras, 42; Adrian Jovan Rocha, 26; and 24-year-old Jonathan Rocha are all scheduled to be sentenced on October 3. It's estimated they made at least $200,000 from their schemes.

The four of them were arrested and indicted last November, after an investigation by federal authorities including Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, which became invovled because the scammers' victims were usually immigrants who could only speak Spanish.

When the four suspects were arrsted and charged last year, NBC San Diego reported the news and noted “Federal authorities said the investigation into the extortion and fake kidnapping operation is ongoing, and there may be more suspects and victims involved.” Thus far, however, it's not known if any additional suspects have been identified.

The feud between the Hachette Book Group and book megaseller Amazon is in its third month now, but Amazon executives interviewed by the Wall Street Journalthis week insisted that it's all for the benefit of Amazon's book-buying customers, to get lower prices for them.

From an ordinary Amazon shopper's perspective, the issue first became evident sometime in early May: the company ships most new-book orders within 24 hours, yet buyers seeking copies of certain Hachette titles (the company publishes authors including Stephen Colbert and the late J. D. Salinger) were told they'd have to wait anywhere from two to five weeks.

This was only a problem on Amazon; every other online bookseller shipped Hachette titles within a day, same as any other new book.

Contract disputes

When the Hachette delay first made headlines, Amazon initially declined all media requests for comment. Not until May 27, more than two weeks later, did Amazon publicly discuss the issue, by releasing a statement on its Kindle forum admitting that the Hachette delay was due to contract displutes with the company:

“At Amazon, we do business with more than 70,000 suppliers, including thousands of publishers. One of our important suppliers is Hachette, which is part of a $10 billion media conglomerate. Unfortunately, despite much work from both sides, we have been unable to reach mutually-acceptable agreement on terms.”

Many critics have accused Amazon of “bullying,” unfairly using its clout to strong-arm a hapless published, possibly even skirting the edges of anti-trust violations. On the other hand, Amazon has pointed out, quite truthfully, that Hachette isn't a small-time indie publisher, but part of a large media conglomerate and a big influential business in its own right.

And yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Amazon executive Russ Grandinetti, the senior vice president in charge of Kindle content, saying that any such damage to Amazon's reputation was worth it, since the company is acting “in the long-term interest of our customers.... This discussion is all about e-book pricing. The terms under which we trade will determine how good the prices are that we can offer consumers.”

The Journal later noted that Amazon currently holds a 40% share of all new book sales in the past year, compared to only 12% five years ago; it definitely qualifies as the single most poweful book retailer today. But an unnamed industry source told the Journal that both Amazon and Hachette have too much at stake to back down:

“Hachette would have come to terms if they felt that what Amazon was seeking was manageable,” said this person. As for Amazon, “If they walk away without a victory of some kind, they'll get punished on Wall Street.”

Meanwhile, any customer who wants to buy a Hachette title can easily visit any other reputable online bookseller and buy one. Amazon is betting that they won't lose any significant number of loyal customers as a result.

It's become something of a cliché to say that weekends are dangerous times to be in the hospital, and now a Johns Hopkins study warns that the "weekend effect" also applies to children undergoing emergency surgery.

The study found that children who undergo simple emergency surgeries, such as hernia repairs or appendix removals, on weekends are more likely to suffer complications and even die than children getting the same kind of treatment during the week.

The Johns Hopkins Children's Center team says that although the number of deaths was small, the marked difference in death and risk of other complications calls for an in-depth examination of possible after-hours safety lapses and clinical glitches.

"Numerically speaking, the number of deaths was quite small, but even a single preventable death is one too many. This demands that we examine any factors that may cause or contribute to such occurrences and find ways to prevent them," said senior investigator Fizan Abdullah, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric surgeon at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

"Hospitals must tease out factors such as how many people were there in the OR and ER, how many nurses were on a specific unit, what imaging was done and how soon, and then correlate all these with how well patients do after surgery," Abdullah said.

Study details

The research findings, published in the July issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, are based on an analysis of 22 years' worth of surgical records involving nearly 440,000 pediatric admissions nationwide.

Specifically, children who underwent urgent or emergency procedures on weekends were 63 percent more likely to die than those treated during the week, the study showed. The investigators emphasize that an individual patient's risk of dying was minuscule and the actual deaths attributable to the weekend effect were very few — 30 over the 22 years.

Although the reasons for this weekend effect were not part of the study, the researchers say some possible factors that may fuel the higher risk include decreased weekend staffing, slower response times and decreased availability of certain imaging and lab tests.

The surgeries examined in the study are considered generally safe and relatively simple and included appendix removal, hernia repairs, draining and cleaning of infected wounds, bone fracture treatment, and surgeries to drain excess fluid in the brain. Overall, cases that showed up at the emergency room on weekends were no more severe than weekday cases, so the conditions themselves did not fuel the higher complication and death risk, the researchers say. The disparity in outcomes persisted even after researchers adjusted their analysis to account for any possible differences in disease severity.

"These are provocative findings and, we hope, a conversation starter," says study lead author Seth Goldstein, M.D., a pediatric surgery resident at Johns Hopkins. "Our next step is to understand the what, how and why behind this alarming disparity."

The economy continues to crank out new jobs.

According to the ADP National Employment Report, 2810,00 private payroll positions were created during June.

The service-providing sector led the way with 230,000 new jobs in June, compared with 148,000 in May. Within that sector, professional/ business services contributed 77,000 jobs in June, trade/transportation/utilities grew by 50,000 and financial activities created 11,000 new jobs.

Goods-producing employment rose by 51,000 jobs last month, 20,000 more than in May. The construction industry added 36,000 jobs over the month, more than double the May number, while manufacturing added 12,000 jobs in June.

"The June jobs number is a welcome boost,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. “The number of construction jobs added was particularly encouraging, representing the highest total in that industry since February of 2006.”

Small business leads the way

Payroll growth for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased by 117,000 jobs in June -- the highest number since February 2012.

Job growth rebounded over the month for medium-sized and large firms. Employment among medium-sized companies with 50-499 employees rose by 115,000, versus 62,000 in May.

Large companies -- those with 500 or more employees -- added 49,000 positions -- 13,000 more than the previous month. Companies with 500-999 employees added 16,000 jobs after losing 3,000 in May.

"The job market is steadily improving,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. Job gains are broad based across all industries and company sizes. Judging from the job market, the economic recovery remains fully intact and is gaining momentum.”

Gallup job creation index

Meanwhile, Gallup's U.S. Job Creation Index registered at +27 in June, the same as in May -- and the highest score in more than six years of tracking this measure.

The index is a measure of net hiring activity in the U.S., with the monthly average based on a nationally representative sample of more than 16,000 full- and part-time workers in June. 

Last month's index score is based on 40% of employees saying their employer is hiring workers and expanding the size of its workforce, and 13% saying their employer is letting workers go and reducing the size of its workforce. Another 41% report no change in staffing.

The index sank over the course of the 2008 recession and was in negative territory for much of 2009, reaching a record low of -5 in February and April of 2009.

This year, after starting off in January at +19, the index has shown gains of exactly two points each month before leveling off in June.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its employment report for June on Thursday.

Oriya Organics is recalling Oriya Organics Superfood Protein Medley which contain Organic Sprouted Chia Seed Powder.

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No other Oriya Organics products are affected by this recall and no illnesses have been reported to date.

The products in this voluntary recall include:

• Oriya Organics Superfood Protein Medley, 21.2 oz, UPC Code:85370100401, with Lot #: A14314 and an expiration date of 05/23/2015.

Lot codes and expiration dates are located on the bottom of the container.

The recalled products were sold in retail stores in Texas and Louisiana, and directly to customers through the Internet in Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Florida, New York, Louisiana and Virginia.

Consumers that have purchased any of these products should not consume them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Oriya Organics at 512-992-5100, Monday – Friday from 9am – 5pm CST, or by email at info@oriyaorganics.com.

Graco is recalling harness buckles used on approximately 1.9 million infant car seats manufactured between July 2010 and May 2013.

Some consumers report having difficulty or having been unable to open the buckle.

There have been no reported injuries associated with this issue.

This the third in a series of recalls, the first of which was issued last February and expanded in March.

Graco is urging consumers to order a buckle replacement kit, which it will provide free of charge, and install the new buckle as soon as it arrives.  

Consumers can verify if their infant car seat is affected by this recall and order a replacement kit by entering the model name and date of manufacture on GracoBuckleRecall.com or calling (877) 766-7470.

This information can be found on the white label located on the bottom of the infant car seat carrier. Graco will provide a free replacement buckle to any consumer who has an infant car seat not included in this recall.

Consumers may contact Graco’s customer service team at (877) 766-7470 or by email at consumerservices@gracobaby.com.

Suzuki Motor of America is recalling 103 model year 2014 DL650A V-Strom motorcycles manufactured January 20, 2014, through January 21, 2014.

A drive chain link in the affected vehicles may not have been riveted by the supplier when being manufactured. If the drive chain link was not riveted, the chain may come off, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Suzuki will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the drive chains of the affected motorcycles. For any unsold motorcycles with a drive chain link that is not riveted, Suzuki dealers will replace the non-riveted link with a drive chain joint set.

For any motorcycles that have been sold to retail customers with a drive chain link that is not riveted, Suzuki dealers will replace the drive chain and the front and rear sprockets, free of charge. The recall began on May 27, 2014.

Owners may contact Suzuki at 1-800-572-1490. Suzuki's number for this recall is 2A39.

T-Mobile has been portraying itself as the consumer's friend lately, offering free "test drives," cutting international roaming charges and offering phones with no long-term contracts.

But the Federal Trade Commission paints a different picture. In a complaint filed today, the agency says T-Mobile has made hundreds of millions of dollars through bogus “premium” SMS subscriptions.

The FTC alleges that T-Mobile received anywhere from 35 to 40 percent of the total amount charged to consumers for subscriptions for content such as flirting tips, horoscope information or celebrity gossip that typically cost $9.99 per month. According to the FTC’s complaint, T-Mobile in some cases continued to bill its customers for these services offered by scammers years after becoming aware of signs that the charges were fraudulent.

“It’s wrong for a company like T-Mobile to profit from scams against its customers when there were clear warning signs the charges it was imposing were fraudulent,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “The FTC’s goal is to ensure that T-Mobile repays all its customers for these crammed charges.”

123 pages later ...

The FTC supplied these excerpts from an actual T-Mobile bill and noted that Page 1 hides the third-party charges, labeling them "Usage Charges." It is not until page 123 that, under "Premium Services, Other Service Provider Charges," the "Brain Facts" text alerts show in the Description field as 8888906150 BrnStorm23918, total $9.99.

In a process known as “third-party billing,” a phone company places charges on a consumer’s bill for services offered by another company, often receiving a substantial percentage of the amount charged. When the charges are placed on the bill without the consumer’s authorization, it is known as “cramming.”

The FTC’s complaint alleges that in some cases, T-Mobile was charging consumers for services that had refund rates of up to 40 percent in a single month.

The FTC has alleged that because such a large number of people were seeking refunds, it was an obvious sign to T-Mobile that the charges were never authorized by its customers.

When consumers were able to determine they were being charged for services they hadn’t ordered, the complaint alleges that T-Mobile in many cases failed to provide consumers with full refunds. Indeed, the FTC charged that T-Mobile refused refunds to some customers, offering only partial refunds of two months’ worth of the charges to others, and in other cases instructed consumers to seek refunds directly from the scammers – without providing accurate contact information to do so.

The complaint also notes that in some cases, T-Mobile claimed that consumers had authorized the charges despite having no proof of consumers doing so.

The cost of driving to your destination over the July 4 holiday is about 5% more than last year, according to datafrom AAA. In a break from past years, gas prices have headed higher at the start of summer.

Motorists hitting the road this week will pay an average of $3.68 a gallon for self-serve regular. Of course, that's just the national average.

Motorists in California will pay an average $4.13 a gallon while drivers in South Carolina will pay only $3.39. But prices everywhere have been headed higher over the last few weeks.

This time it's Iraq

The world price of oil has risen sharply, ostensibly due to the fighting in Iraq. However, the violence has not disrupted the flow of Iraqi oil – which has only recently returned to the world market. In other words, the world was getting along fine without Iraqi oil for years but now, can't seem to live without it.

Iraq supplies only about 3 million barrels of oil a day. The United States now pumps more than twice that.

Still, just the possibility that Iraq might start supplying less oil to the world market caused the price of petroleum to jump earlier this month. That price eased a bit this week, with Brent crude going for about $112 a barrel and U.S. oil bringing around $105.

Higher oil prices translate into higher prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. A year ago the national average price of a gallon of gasoline was 18 cents less, a seeming bargain at $3.49.

Tide turning?

Consumers continue to be frustrated by gasoline prices that seem to rise and fall between a narrow range, well over $3 a gallon. While no one is predicting a return to “good old days” pricing, there is an emerging school of thought that oil-producing countries' ability to keep the price of oil artificially high is beginning to show its limits.

Writing in Foreign Affairs, Edward Morse predicts growing shale oil production – both in the U.S. and other nations – will limit OPEC's ability to keep prices high. The reason? Competition from countries not thought of as oil producers.

“A decade ago, there was a near-global consensus that U.S. (and, for that matter, non-OPEC) production was in inexorable decline,” Morse writes. “Today, most serious analysts are confident that it will continue to grow. The growth is occurring, to boot, at a time when U.S. oil consumption is falling.”

Consumers not rewarded

While consumers are using less gasoline, they haven't been rewarded for doing so. They have invested in new cars that get more miles to the gallon, but increasingly have to pay more for that fuel. As a result, they're paying about the same each month for gasoline.

The benefits have all gone to the oil-producing nations dependent on oil revenue, and to a lesser extent, the commodities traders who buy and sell oil futures contracts. Morse suggests that balance of power could tip in the next few years.

There is no guarantee that will turn out to benefit consumers, however. Now that gasoline prices have established what the market will bear, there will likely be pressure from the government to take any savings as tax revenue.

In fact, two senators recently introduced a bill to increase the federal gasoline tax 12 cents a gallon to replenish the federal highway maintenance fund. It will be a hard sell as long as gasoline prices are barely affordable for consumers.

But if gasoline prices were to begin to fall, it might be a different story.

How much longer will Corinthian Colleges stay in business? The for-profit company, which runs Everest Institute and Everest College, is currently under investigation at the federal level by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department, in addition to at least 20 different states.

Corinthian is currently breaking apart – selling some of its campuses, and shutting down others – yet the school's imminent demise apparently hasn't stopped it from trying to lure in new students.

Last Friday, California's attorney general Kamala Harris kicked off the weekend by filing additional charges against Corinthian, claiming that it violated California laws against false advertising and unfair competition, by not telling prospective students about the school's uncertain future.

“It is unacceptable yet not surprising that Corinthian Colleges continues to illegally target vulnerable Californians — including low income individuals, single mothers and veterans returning from combat — by lying about its dire finances and failing to tell prospective students that the schools to which they apply will all be sold or closed," Harris said in a press release. "My office is seeking expedited action to force Corinthian Colleges to put the interests of its students above its rapidly shrinking profits.”

Biggest collapse

But were Harris' actions actually necessary? A July 1 report in Bloomberg Newssuggests the answer is “yes.” Bloomberg – which called the shutdown “the biggest collapse the U.S. for-profit education industry has ever seen” – said that the school is still enrolling new students, who are being kept in the dark about the school's future:

Jessica Arellano, 30, a medical assistant student at Corinthian’s Everest College in West Los Angeles, said on Friday [June 27] that she wasn’t aware of the company’s situation and that she received a confusing e-mail last week assuring her that classes and student aid would continue as usual.

Few if any course credits earned at Everest or other Corinthian schools will be accepted by accredited universities, or by states demanding certain educational qualifications for professional licenses.

Even worse, any student loans taken to pay for an Everest “education” are legally identical to loans taken out for legitimate schools: they cannot generally be discharged in bankruptcy, no matter how worthless the degree. If a school goes out of business, however, federal student loans can sometimes be canceled.

The Internet has connected the world, which for the most part is a good thing. But a definite downside to the explosive growth in connective technology is a consumer's vulnerability to snooping and a loss of privacy.

Hackers seem to break into corporate databases with ease and, as recent revelations have shown, interested government agencies have increased their ability to track movements and phone calls. This trend may have created a new niche market – the security-oriented consumer.

There is no shortage of companies rushing to provide products and services. Geneva-based SGP Technologies has begun shipping its new Blackphone, which the company touts as among the most secure mobile devices available.

Focus on privacy

SGP says the Blackphone was built with a primary focus on user privacy, with integrated features for private communication, browsing and cloud storage.

"We are excited to achieve this key milestone on schedule and ship a remarkable device to customers that is the result of an unprecedented combination of privacy and mobile innovations and visionaries," said Toby Weir-Jones, CEO of SGP Technologies. "In a world where devices and apps increasingly offer features only in return for users' personal or sensitive information, the pent-up demand for Blackphone shows there is strong, international demand for our brand's devices and services that stand apart by placing privacy before all else."

How important is a privacy feature? To a political dissident, maybe a lot. In its review of the top breakthrough technologies of 2014, MIT Technology Review begins with a chilling example.

Chilling example

When anti-government demonstrators in Ukraine gathered earlier year, protesting the government's soon-to-be ousted president, everyone with a smartphone received the same message.

“Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”

The government, apparently, was able to hone in on all the mobile devices in the narrow geographical region of the demonstration and identify their owners.

The MIT Review notes Blackphone appears to be capable of standing up to garden-variety hacking threats and overly aggressive marketers but isn't “NSA proof.”

Features

But according to SGP, the Blackphone features plenty of security for the security-conscious user. For example it provides private encrypted voice and video calls and text messaging with attachments via Silent Circle's, Silent Phone and Silent Text. Users can community in security either through cellular or Wi-Fi connections.

Something called Disconnect Search is the default search provider for Blackphone, offering private browsing protection from invasive Web monitoring by hiding users' IP address, browser cookies and personal information. Blackphone also features Disconnect's Secure Wireless app, which is a smart VPN designed to prevent eavesdropping over Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

Also this week CIA Media has released a range of new features in its Android version of “CIA,” a souped-up caller ID app. The app reportedly detects incoming calls and searches 1.3 billion personal and business listings as the phone rings to display the caller identity.

But the updated app has been renamed “Reputation Check” and in sort of a privacy twist, now allows the user to observe how they are listed in the contacts lists of family and friends who call them.

General Motors says it will conduct 6 new safety recalls in the United States involving about 7.6 million vehicles from the 1997 to 2014 model years.

“Our customers deserve more than we delivered in these vehicles. That has hardened my resolve to set a new industry standard for vehicle safety, quality and excellence," said GM CEO Mary Barra. 

Among these recalled vehicles, GM is aware of seven crashes, eight injuries and three fatalities. The fatal crashes occurred in older model full-size sedans being recalled for inadvertent ignition key rotation. The company said there is no conclusive evidence that the defect condition caused those crashes.

“We have worked aggressively to identify and address the major outstanding issues that could impact the safety of our customers,” Barra said. “If any other issues come to our attention, we will act appropriately and without hesitation.”

The latest recalls bring the total number of GM recalls this year to nearly 30 million. 

GM said it has made changes to every process that affects the safety of its vehicles, and the company has acted or will act on all 90 of the recommendations put forward by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas in his independent report to the company’s Board of Directors.

Until the ignition recall repairs have been performed, it is very important that customers remove all items from their key ring, leaving only the vehicle key, and always use their seat belts, GM said. The key fob, if present, should also be removed from the key ring.

The main problem with donating to charity is that the world is full of scam artists happy to falsely pose as a charity in order to collect your “charity budget” for themselves. Other scam artists will collect money in the name of legitimate charities but keep the lion's share of donations for themselves, rather than give it to the charity in question.

It's bad enough that the New York State attorney general's office has a “Charities Bureau” dedicated to investigating such things, and on July 1 the Charities Bureau reached a $24.6 million settlement with two for-profit direct mail vendors, Quadriga Art and Convergence Direct Marketing, over collections they made on behalf of the  (DVNF).

Attorney General Eric Scheniederman said in a July 1 press release that:

“This investigation sheds light on some of the most troublesome features of direct mail charitable fundraising as it is practiced in the United States today …. Taking advantage of a popular cause and what was an unsophisticated start-up charity, these direct mail companies used cleverly designed but misleading mailers to raise tens of millions of dollars in donations from generous Americans, nearly all of which went to the fundraisers and their agents, and left the charity nearly $14 million in debt. Charities and their fundraisers that rely on direct mail campaigns can and must do better -- and this settlement is an important milestone on the path forward.”

$10 million

The settlement requires Quadriga to pay $9.7 million in damages, forgive $13.8 million in debt that DVNF owed it, and pay the state of New York $800,000 to cover costs. Convergence, meanwhile, will pay $300,000 in damages.

The two companies also must pay $10 million to assist the disabled veterans who were supposed to have been helped by the monies donated to DVNF.

Although Schneiderman's investigation naturally focused only on problems in New York State, the settlement is likely to have repercussions nationwide.

CNN started investigating Quadriga in 2010 (and took credit for Schneiderman's later interest in the company), saying that since 2008, Quadriga had raised $116 million on DVNF's behalf – with $104 million of that going right back to Quadriga – and what donations did trickle through to DVNF were for the most part useless.

In 2011, for example, DVNF made donations to St. Benedict's, a small veterans' charity in Alabama, after devastating tornadoes swirled through the region. St. Benedict's director J.D. Simpson, in 2012, told CNN what sort of donations they actually received:

"They sent us 2,600 bags of cough drops and 2,200 little bottles of sanitizer," J.D. Simpson told CNN. "And the great thing was, they sent us 11,520 bags of coconut M&M's. And we didn't have a lot of use for 11,520 bags of coconut M&M's. "

What to do

Incidentally: if you want to donate to a charity, whether a home for disabled veterans, domestic-violence victims or anything else, the best thing to send is cash, not stuff — on the off-chance your charity of choice actually thinks “Y'know, it sure would be helpful if we had 2,600 bags of cough drops and a truckload of coconut M&Ms,” they're still better off receiving money which they can then use to buy the cough drops and coconut candy.

The same holds true for “short-term” charities: if a natural disaster hits a given region, and people there need clothes and blankets, the best thing to do is send money, because charity workers and volunteers don't have time to sort through piles of donated fabric items to determine what's worth keeping or who it should go to.

Home prices across the country -- including distressed sales -- rose 8.8% in during the year ended May 2014, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI), marking 27 straight months of  year-over-year increases.

On a month-over-month basis, prices inched up 1.4%.

No states saw prices fall, and 25 states and the District of Columbia were at or within 10% of their peak home price appreciation. Additionally, 10 states   -- Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New York -- reached new home prices highs.

The strongest year-over-year appreciation is in the Western U.S., led by Hawaii, California and Nevada.

Excluding distressed sales, which include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions, home prices nationally increased 8.1% year-over-year in May and 1.2% month over month. Also excluding distressed sales, all 50 states and the District of Columbia showed year-over-year home price appreciation in May.

Report highlights

• Including distressed sales, the 5 states with the highest home price appreciation were: Hawaii (+13.2%), California (+13.1%), Nevada (+12.6%), Michigan (+11.8%) and New York (+11.0%).

• Excluding distressed sales, the 5 states with the highest home price appreciation were: New York (+12.2%), Hawaii (+11.6%), Nevada (+10.6%), California (+10.4%) and Florida (+9.6%).

• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to May 2014) was -13.5%. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -9.3%.

• Including distressed sales, the U.S. has experienced 27 consecutive months of year-over-year increases; however, the national average is no longer posting double-digit increases.

• The 5 states with the largest peak-to-current declines, including distressed transactions, were: Nevada (-38.1%), Florida (-34.3%), Arizona (-29.2%), Rhode Island (-28.7%) and New Jersey (-23.0 %).

• Ninety-four of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population showed year-over-year increases in May 2014. The 6 CBSAs that did not show an increase were: Worcester, Mass.-Conn.; Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.; New Haven-Milford, Conn.; Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.; Rochester, N.Y. and Winston-Salem, N.C.

Looking ahead

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices -- including distressed sales -- are projected to increase 0.8% month-over-month from May to June 2014 and, on a year-over-year basis by 6.0% from May 2014 to May 2015.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices are expected to rise 0.7% month-over-month from May 2014 to June 2014 and by 5.1% year-over-year from May 2014 to May 2015.

“The pace of home price appreciation is cooling off quickly as the weather warms up,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “May's 8.8% year-over-year growth rate is down almost three percentage points from just three months ago. The influences of modestly rising inventory and less-than-expected demand are causing price growth to moderate toward our forecasted expectations.”

Most news about the current Supreme Court session involves the cases it did address this year, but the cases it declined are arguably just as important. (The way American law works is: if the Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal of a lower court decision, that effectively means the lower court decision stands as is.)

The Supreme Court ended its session without hearing Google's appeal of its earlier Street View ruling, which means Google still faces accusations of violating anti-wiretapping laws.

The problem actually started in 2007, when cars emblazoned with the Google logo could be seen on various city streets, photographing the surroundings for the Street View option on Google maps. Had Google done nothing more than take pictures, there likely wouldn't have been any problem.

But Google also sucked data out of whatever unsecured wi-fi networks it passed, including people's emails, passwords and other sensitive information.

In May 2012, TheNew York Times spoke to a German data-protection official who'd recently won a two-year battle to see exactly what information Google had collected on his fellow citizens:

After months of negotiation, Johannes Caspar, a German data protection official, forced Google to show him exactly what its Street View cars had been collecting from potentially millions of his fellow citizens. Snippets of e-mails, photographs, passwords, chat messages, postings on Web sites and social networks — all sorts of private Internet communications — were casually scooped up as the specially equipped cars photographed the world’s streets.

“It was one of the biggest violations of data protection laws that we had ever seen,” Mr. Caspar recently recalled about that long-sought viewing in late 2010. “We were very angry.”

$7 million fine

In March 2013, Google agreed to pay a $7 million fine over its data-collection activities; Google executives claimed they had no idea its Street View cars were collecting all this data anyway.

And on June 30, 2014, when the Times' tech blog reported the Supreme Court's refusal to hear Google's case, it said: “Google maintains it was not wiretapping as part of Street View.”

Right now, various plaintiffs seek class-action status to sue Google. Thus far they have not officially been granted class-action status, but the Supreme Court decision to let stand lower-court rulings against the data collection will presumably increase the plaintiffs' chances of success.

If the case does go to trial as a class-action, however, it's extremely unlikely it will do so before the end of this calendar year.

Generally speaking, anything that's not specifically banned is considered legal but that's not necessarily the case with Bitcoin and other alternative currencies, which remain technically illegal in a number of states, including -- until yesterday -- the country's largest. 

California Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday signed a measure that lifts the state's ban on Bitcoin, ensuring that “various forms of alternative currency such as digital currency” will be legal in purchasing goods and transmitting payments. Previously, California had prohibited “anything but the lawful money of the United States.”

Newegg, meanwhile, became the latest retailer to accept the digital currency.

“I commend Governor Brown for signing AB 129, a bill which repeals the obsolete prohibition of alternative currencies,” Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, the measure's author, said. “Alternative currencies, from Starbucks Stars to Amazon Coins, are becoming increasingly common and prior to AB 129, these currencies were in violation of the law.

Although Bitcoin has garnered most of the attention, Dickinson, a Democrat, noted that there have long been alternative currencies.

"Long before the introduction of digital currencies, various businesses created point models that allow consumers to use points to pay for goods or services. Many communities have created 'community currencies' that are created by members of a community and the merchants who agree to accept the alternative currency," Dickinson noted. "These 'community currencies' are created for a variety of reasons, some of which include encouraging consumers to shop at small businesses within the community or increasing neighborhood cohesiveness."

New York recently said it would begin accepting proposals to build a virtual currency regulation system, and the Texas Department of Banking said it would permit Bitcoin transactions but noted that Bitcoin transmissions are not legally currency transactions.

Retailers

Retailers, especially those in the tech field, have been lining up to accept Bitcoin. Newegg became the latest with an announcement today.

"Our customers have been asking for Bitcoin as a payment option for months," said Soren Mills, chief marketing officer of Newegg North America. "We believe there is a pent-up demand just waiting to be served and we are happy to open this payment option to them." 

Dish Network announced in May that it would begin accepting Bitcoin, the largest retailer to do so so far.

Also getting on board is Intuit, which said it is enabling its merchant network to accept bitcoin through its new PayByCoin service. PayByCoin integrates Intuit’s QuickBooks Online payment processing service with bitcoin wallet and merchant processing provider Coinbase.

The grocery shelves are lined with products that advertise themselves as "natural," even though -- or perhaps because -- it's a word with no defined legal meaning.

That doesn't stop consumers from challenging its use, however, as Kashi Co. and Bear Naked Inc. have learned. The companies have agreed to settle class action lawsuits alleging they falsely advertised some of their products as “natural” even though they contained synthetic and artificial ingredients.

California consumers who purchased certain Kashi or Bear Naked products that were advertised as natural could be eligible for benefits from the class action settlements (details below).

Kashi and Bear Naked deny any wrongdoing but say they have agreed to settle the lawsuits to avoid the cost and risk of ongoing litigation. Kashi has agreed to create a settlement fund of $5 million and Bear Naked has agreed to create a fund of $325,000.

Who’s eligible

Class Members of the Kashi class action settlement include California residents who purchased certain Kashi products between Aug. 24, 2007 and May 1, 2014.

Class Members of the Bear Naked class action settlement include California residents who purchased certain Bear Naked products between Sept. 21, 2007 and May 1, 2014.

The Kashi products covered by the class action settlement include:

GoLean Chewy Chocolate Almond Toffee Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Chewy Cookies and Cream Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Chewy Malted Chocolate Crisp Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Chocolate Malted Crisp Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Chocolate Malted Crisp Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Crunchy! Chocolate Almond Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Crunchy! Chocolate Caramel Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Crunchy! Chocolate Peanut Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Crunchy! Chocolate Pretzel Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Crunchy! Cinnamon Coffee Cake Protein & Fiber Bars
GoLean Oatmeal Raisin Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Peanut Butter & Chocolate Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Roll! Caramel Peanut Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Roll! Chocolate Peanut Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Roll! Chocolate Turtle Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Roll! Fudge Sundae Protein & Fiber Bar
GoLean Roll! Oatmeal Walnut Protein & Fiber Bar
TLC Baked Apple Spice Soft-Baked Snack Bars
TLC Blackberry Graham Soft-Baked Snack Bars
TLC Cherry Dark Chocolate Chewy Granola Bars
TLC Cherry Vanilla Soft-Baked Snack Bars
TLC Cranberry Walnut Fruit & Grain Bars
TLC Cranberry Walnut Layered Granola Bars
TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Grain Bars
TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut Layered Granola Bar
TLC Dark Mocha Almond Chewy Granola Bars
TLC Honey Almond Flax Chewy Granola Bars
TLC Honey Toasted 7 Grain Granola Bars
TLC All Natural Chewy Granola Bar in Honey Toasted
Kashi TLC Crunchy Granola Bar Honey Toasted 7 Grain
TLC Peanut Peanut Butter Chewy Granola Bars
TLC Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bar
TLC Pumpkin Pie Fruit & Grain Bars
TLC Pumpkin Pecan Layered Granola Bar
TLC Pumpkin Pecan Fruit & Grain Bars
TLC Pumpkin Spice Flax Crunchy Granola Bars
TLC Raspberry Chocolate Fruit & Grain Bars
TLC Raspberry Chocolate Layered Granola Bar
TLC Ripe Strawberry Soft-Baked Snack Bars
TLC Roasted Almond Crunch Crunchy Granola Bars
TLC Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bars
7 Grain Waffles
Blueberry Waffles
GoLean Blueberry Waffles GoLean Strawberry Flax Waffles
GoLean Original 7 Grain Waffles
Berry Blossoms Squares Cereal
GoLean Crisp Toasted Berry Crumble Cereal
GoLean Crunch Cereal
GoLean Crunch Honey Almond Flax Cereal
Honey Sunshine Squares Cereal
Cocoa Beach Granola
Mountain Medley Granola
Summer Berry Granola
GoLean Chocolate Shake
GoLean Vanilla Shake
GoLean Creamy Instant Hot Cereal Truly Vanilla
GoLean Hearty Instant Hot Cereal with Clusters Honey & Cinnamon
TLC Country Cheddar Cheese Crackers
TLC Honey Sesame Snack Crackers
TLC Original 7 Grain with Sea Salt Pita Crisps
Kashi Pita Crisps Zesty Salsa
Kashi TLC Crackers Asiago Cheese
Kashi TLC Crackers Toasted Asiago
Kashi TLC Entertainer Cracker – Mediterranean Bruchetta
Kashi TLC Crackers Party Mediterranean Bruschetta
Kashi TLC Entertainer Cracker – Stoneground 7 Grain
Kashi TLC Crackers Party Stoneground 7 Grain
Kashi TLC Crackers Fire Roasted Vegetable
Kashi TLC Entertainer Cracker – Garlic and Thyme
Kashi TLC Entertainer Cracker – Stoneground 7 Grain
Kashi TLC Entertainer Cracker – Original 7 Grain
Kashi TLC Crackers Original 7 Grain
Kashi TLC Crackers-Natural Ranch
TLC Happy Trail Mix Chewy Cookies
TLC Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chewy Cookies
TLC Oatmeal Raisin Flax Chewy Cookies
Kashi Entrée Chicken Florentine
Kashi Chicken Pasta Pomodoro
Kashi Entrée Lemongrass Coconut Chicken
Kashi Entrée Mayan Harvest Bake
Kashi Entrée Pesto Pasta Primavera
Kashi Entrée Southwest Style Chicken
Kashi Entrée Spicy Black Bean Enchilada
Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake
Kashi Pizza Caribbean Carnival
Kashi Pizza 5 Cheese & Tomato
Kashi Pizza Margherita
Kashi Pizza Margherita – Thin Crust
Kashi Pizza Margherita – Stone-Fired Thin Crust
Tomato Garlic Cheese Stone-Fired Thin Crust Pizza
Kashi Pizza Mexicali Black Bean
Kashi Pizza Mushroom Trio & Spinach
Kashi Pizza Mushroom Trio & Spinach – Thin Crust
Kashi Pizza Basil Pesto
Kashi Pizza Basil Pesto – Stone-Fired Thin Crust
Kashi Pizza Roasted Garlic Chicken
Kashi Pizza Roasted Vegetable
Kashi Pizza Roasted Vegetable – Thin Crust
Heart to Heart Honey Oat Waffles
Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat Cereal
Heart to Heart Instant Oatmeal Apple Cinnamon
Heart to Heart Instant Oatmeal Golden Maple
Heart to Heart Instant Oatmeal Raisin Spice
Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Blueberry Clusters Cereal
Heart to Heart Blueberry Cereal
Heart to Heart Roasted Garlic Whole Grain Crackers
Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal
Heart to Heart Original Whole Grain Crackers

The Bear Naked products covered by the class action settlement include:

Bear Naked Cookie Double Chocolate/Bear Naked Soft-Baked Double Chocolate Granola Cookie
Bear Naked Cookie Fruit & Nut/Bear Naked Soft-Baked Fruit & Nut Granola Cookies
Bear Naked Fruit and Nut Granola
Bear Naked Heavenly Chocolate Granola
Bear Naked Nut Cluster Crunch Honey Almond Cereal
Bear Naked Nut Cluster Crunch Maple Nut Cereal
Bear Naked Peak Energy Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix
Bear Naked Peak Energy Cranberry Almond Trail Mix/Bear Naked Peak Energy Trail Mix Cranberry Protein
Bear Naked Peak Energy Pecan Apple Flax Trail Mix
Bear Naked Peak Flax Oats and Honey with Blueberries Granola
Bear Naked Peak Protein Granola/Bear Naked Peak Protein Original Granola
Potential Award

The specific amount Class Members may receive depends on the quantity of Kashi or Bear Naked products purchased, whether they have receipts for their purchases and the number of valid claims submitted.

Kashi Class Members who provide written proof of purchase (such as a receipt or a retail rewards submission) for the affected Kashi products may seek reimbursement of $0.50 for each product purchased. Class Members without proof of purchase may still make a claim for reimbursement of $0.50 for each product purchased, but the maximum recovery for products without proof of purchase will be capped at $25.

Bear Naked Class Members who provide written proof of purchase (such as a receipt or a retail rewards submission) for the affected Bear Naked products may seek reimbursement of $0.50 for each product purchased. Class Members without proof of purchase may still make a claim for reimbursement of $0.50 for each product purchased, but the maximum recovery for products without proof of purchase will be capped at $10.

The claim form is available here. 

You’d think with all the news articles about fireworks accident s that people would figure out that the things are dangerous. Apparently not.

As we get ready  to celebrate Independence Day, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a  new study highlighting an increase in the number of fireworks-related deaths and injuries. Device malfunction and improper use are associated with the most injuries.

A huge increase

Last year, there were 8 deaths, and an estimated 11,400 consumers suffered injuries related to fireworks, compared with 8,700 injuries in 2012. Sixty-five percent -- or 7,400 -- of the injuries in 2013 occurred in the 30 days surrounding July 4.

CPSC staff reviewed fireworks incident reports from hospital emergency rooms, death certificate files, news clippings and other sources to estimate deaths, injuries and incident scenarios. Injuries were frequently the result of the user playing with lit fireworks or igniting fireworks while holding the device.

Consumers also reported injuries related to devices that malfunctioned or devices that did not work as expected, including injuries due to errant flight paths, devices that tipped over and blowouts.

“CPSC works year-round to help prevent deaths and injuries from legal and illegal fireworks,” said Acting Chairman Bob Adler.  “We engage the fireworks industry, monitor incoming fireworks shipments at the ports, and enforce federal safety rules, so that all Americans have a safe Fourth of July.”

Small children at risk

Last year, children younger than age 5 experienced a higher estimated per capita injury rate than any other age group. Past reports indicate that consumers sometimes feel comfortable handing off to children fireworks devices perceived to be less powerful, such as sparklers and bottle rockets. In 2013, sparklers and rockets accounted for more than 40% of all estimated injuries.

According to the report, fireworks incidents become deadly when banned, professional and home-manufactured devices are involved. In each of the eight fireworks-related deaths recorded in 2013, the victim was manipulating (or was a bystander to someone who was handling) a banned, professional or home-manufactured device.

CPSC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff sampled and tested a select number of imported fireworks in 2013. Of those tested, 33 percent were noncompliant with federal regulations. Violations most often involved overloaded report composition and failure to meet fuse burn-time requirements. These violative devices never reached the shelves of American stores or fireworks stands.

What to do

Consumers who decide to purchase legal fireworks are urged to take the following safety steps:

• Make sure the fireworks you want to buy are legal in your area before buying or using them.

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers. Parents may not realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees -- hot enough to melt some metals.

• Always have an adult close by to supervise fireworks activities if older children are allowed to handle devices.

• Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper, which is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and could pose a danger to consumers.

• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.

• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.

• Never try to relight or handle malfunctioning fireworks. Soak them with water and throw them away.

• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.

• Light fireworks one at a time, then move away from them quickly.

• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.

• After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding the device to prevent a trash fire.

• Report the manufacture or sale of illegal fireworks to your local law enforcement agencies or 1-888-ATF-BOMB (1-888-283-2662).

Hyundai Motor Company is recalling 35,000 model year 2010-2012 Elantra Touring vehicles manufactured December 15, 2009, through May 7, 2012.

The affected vehicles have a support bracket attached to the headliner that may become displaced during a side curtain airbag deployment. If the headliner support bracket makes contact with an occupant during a crash, it may cause a laceration injury.

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will apply adhesive strips to the headliner, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by mid-August 2014.

Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 117.