Current Events in September 2014

The witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth might have been chanting “bubble, bubble toil and trouble,” because that would be an appropriate chant on Wall Street this week. A few voices are emerging from those of the cheering section to question the longevity of this bull market.

Of course, those questions have been asked on and off all year long. Stock valuations have risen with stock prices, yet the long-expected correction has not materialized. Many of the most bearish traders have thrown in the towel in recent weeks and become bulls.

And a lot of people see that as something to worry about.

There's an expression among traders that stocks tend to “climb a wall of worry.” That means prices go up when a significant number of players express worries the market is over valued and a correction is due.

Kind of like the situation several months ago, when there were plenty of bears warning of a correction. But when everyone starts singing “Happy Days Are Here Again,” look out.

Those who were in the market in early 2000, at the tail end of the dot-com boom, remember the refrain “this time it's different,” used to justify buying stock in companies with no earnings but a dot-com at the end of their name. A few months later it was clear that nothing was different.

Fed pumping

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has been buying bonds and holding down interest rates. Some critics point out that has inflated stock prices, since companies can cheaply borrow money to buy their own stock, pumping up the price.

With bonds and CDs paying next to nothing, more money has flowed into the stock market, pushing prices ever higher. As long as the Fed keeps interest rates at zero, the argument goes, stocks are destined to go higher.

But this month, there have been a few people on Wall Street waving the caution flag.

“With the sentiment number so outrageously high and with the margin debt so off the charts, we really feel this is a very risky time,” Brad Lamensdorf, manager of the Range Equity Bear Fund, told Yahoo Finance this week.

Lamensdorf said he thinks a 10% to 20% correction is in order to get the market back to where it should be. In early September billionaire investor Sam Zell told CNBC that he believes a market pullback is on the horizon.

"People have no place else to put their money, and the stock market is getting more than its share,” he told the network. “It's very likely that something has to give here."

Avoid panic

This week there were signs that a correction of some type may have already begun. The stocks of small companies have suffered a sharp decline.

The Russell 2000, a stock index made of up small companies, suffered a “death cross,” a chart event that in the past has signaled the onset of a bear market.

But if there is a sharp correction, people with retirement accounts full of mutual funds shouldn't panic. After all, unless you have an extremely short retirement time line, you're in it for the long haul.

Long-time market bull Jeremy Siegel says the market may face some rough sledding in the weeks ahead, but should continue to move higher over time. Even investors who rode out the catastrophic market decline of early 2009 were well ahead of the game by 2010.

The point is to not be shocked if the market gives up some of what it has gained this year. What should consumers with retirement accounts packed with mutual funds be doing?

It might be wise to review your retirement portfolio and discuss strategy with your financial advisor. If you are sharply higher in some of your positions, it might be prudent to take some profits. 

Remember -- buy low, sell high. Taking some profits could give you the cash you need to wade back into stocks after they've come back down to earth.

If you downloaded and installed Apple's iOS 8.0.1 software update on Wednesday, whether to your iPhone, iPad or iPod, bear in mind the update proved to be so flawed, the company stopped the release a mere hour after starting it.

The Wall Street Journal initially reported that Apple yanked the update after hearing complaints from customers that the update not only interfered with their phones' ability to make calls, but disabled the TouchID sensor which allowed people to unlock their phones with their fingerprints.

Of course, iOS 8.0.1 was supposed to fix several flaws with iOS 8.0, including problems with the large phones' “reachability” (or ability to be used with only one hand), a bug that prevented users from accessing their photos, or uploading photos and videos from certain platforms, issues with various apps, and more. Instead, the intended fix only traded one set of major flaws for another.

The flawed update can no longer be downloaded and installed. However, for people who have already put iOS 8.0.1 on their iThings, it's uncertain as of press time what, if anything, Apple plans to do for them.

Bent out of shape

This hasn't been the only embarrassment Apple's faced this week; the company received plenty of bad press after people who bought iPhone 6 Plus devices complained that the phones are flimsy enough to bend out of shape, especially when people kept the phones in their pants pockets.

However, Apple finally responded to such complaints by offering to replace any bent iPhone 6 Plus models – after Genius Bar employees subject the phones to a “Visual Mechanical Inspection” to ensure the warranty covers the damage.

So if you are plagued by such a bent iPhone 6 Plus, you might try visiting your local Apple Store to see if your bent phone passes the Visual Mechanical Inspection. Thus far, it's too early to report how those VMIs turn out for bent-phone owners.

More than 420,000 U.S. Bank customers will be getting a full refund for "add-on" charges that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says were illegally billed.

The charges -- about $48 million worth -- were for such things as identity protection services that, the CFPB says, the customers never received. U.S. Bank will also pay a $5 million civil money penalty to the CFPB and a $4 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

“We have consistently warned companies about practices related to add-on products and we will do what is necessary to prevent further harm to consumers,“ said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

According to the CFPB order, U.S. Bank’s service provider enrolled bank customers in identity protection add-on products that promised to monitor consumers’ credit and alert them to potentially fraudulent activity. These credit monitoring programs, known as “Privacy Guard” and “Identity Secure” were marketed by U.S. Bank and administered by its third-party vendor.

In order for a company to provide credit monitoring services, it generally must obtain the customer’s written authorization. U.S. Bank customers, however, were charged for these products as soon as they enrolled without the necessary authorization to perform the services. 

Enforcement action

To ensure that U.S. Bank honors its obligation to repay affected consumers and that consumers are no longer subject to these unfair billing practices, the CFPB’s order requires that U.S. Bank:

End unfair billing practices: Consumers will no longer be billed for certain credit monitoring services if they are not receiving the promised benefits. In August 2012, U.S. Bank’s service provider stopped the illegal billing practices. U.S. Bank must take steps, subject to the Bureau’s approval, to ensure these unlawful acts do not occur in the future.

Complete repayment of $48 million to more than 420,000 customers: U.S. Bank must pay a full refund, approximately $48 million, to more than 420,000 bank customers who enrolled in the credit monitoring products and were charged for services that were not received. In addition to the amount paid for the product, U.S. Bank must refund interest and any over-limit fees resulting from the charge for the product.

Conveniently repay consumers: If the consumers are still U.S. Bank customers, they will receive a credit to their accounts. If they are no longer U.S. Bank customers, they will receive checks in the mail. Consumers are not required to take any action to receive their credit or check.

Improve oversight of third-party vendors: The CFPB is also requiring that U.S. Bank strengthen its management and oversight of add-on service providers and add-on products.

U.S. marriage rates have been in decline for years. The sexual revolution obviously has a lot to do with that. Ideas about personal freedom do as well.

But an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center has found that the percentage of American adults who have never been married is at an all-time high. In 2012, 20% of adults age 25 and older had never been married. In 1960, the percentage was just 9%.

It isn't that young adults aren't getting together. They are. The shares of adults cohabiting and raising children outside of marriage have increased significantly.

It's true that since the Baby Boomers came along, every generation has marched to its own drum. But one reason for the falling marriage rate identified in the analysis is economic.

Not enough money?

“As the share of never-married adults has climbed, the economic circumstances faced by both men and women have changed considerably,” the authors write.

And not changed for the better. The number of men – particularly young men – with jobs has fallen significantly over the past few decades.

In 1960, 93% of men ages 25 to 34 were working. In 2012 the percentage was down to 82%. And among young men who are employed, wages have fallen.

Men ages 25 to 34 have seen their pay fall 20% since 1980. Over the same period, the wage gap between men and women has narrowed, and not necessarily because women are earning more.

In 2012, among workers ages 25 to 34, women’s hourly earnings were 93% those of men. In 1980, the ratio was less than 70%.

The pew researchers suggest this is by no means the only reason young people – even those who have been living together for years – are putting off tying the knot. But it is an important one.

Looking for a productive mate

A follow-up survey found that never-married women place a high premium on finding a spouse with a steady job. With recent changes in the labor market there are fewer young men “with prospects,” as they used to say.

Here's an interesting statistic that illustrates the problem; In 1960 there were 139 men, ages 25 to 34, with jobs, for every 100 women in the same age group. By 2012, the ratio had flipped – only 91 employed men per 100 women.

In other words, if all never-married young women in 2012 wanted to find a young employed man who had also never been married, 9% of them would be left out, just because there weren't enough men to go around.

When the researchers interviewed young people who said they did want to get married, financial security showed up as a significant reason why they were hesitating. But is there something more to it?

Higher expectations

Writing in Slate last year, Julia Shaw, herself a Millennial, says a lot of her peers want to wait until they've “arrived” before getting married; established in a career, big house and a nice car. She, on the other hand, says she got married at 23.

“My husband, David, was 25,” she writes. “We hadn’t arrived. I had a job; he, a job offer and a year left in law school. But we couldn’t buy a house or even replace the car when it died a few months into our marriage. We lived in a small basement apartment, furnished with secondhand Ikea. We did not have Internet (checking email required a trip to the local coffee shop) or reliable heat. Marriage wasn’t something we did after we’d grown up – it was how we have grown up and grown together.”

That's pretty much the way couples did things in the past. Whether its financial obstacles or wanting to “have it all” before they settle down, the Millennials appear to be doing marriage differently.

Who wouldn't want to be taken over by AT&T for $48.5 billion? Not the shareholders of DirecTV, 99% of whom have voted to approve the takeover, which would strengthen AT&T's hand by giving it a nationwide TV service to add to its bundle.

What it does for consumers isn't quite as clear but AT&T has been promoting it as particularly beneficial for rural dwellers. An AT&T executive said recently that it would use DirecTV's satellite to deliver broadband speeds of 15 megabits per second or better in rural areas. 

AT&T has technology “ready to go” by late 2015 to deliver high-speed wireless Internet service that’s faster than LTE, because it is delivered via a dedicated swath of spectrum, said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T's mobility division, at a conference earlier this month.

Although AT&T's Uverse delivers cable and broadband service, it's only available in some markets. By combining its wireless, landline and satellite capacity post-merger, the telecom giant could offer a complete package of broadband, wireless and TV service nationwide. 

Hurdles remain

The deal still requires approval by the Federal Communications Commission, the Justice Department and possibly other agencies and, although opposition has not been as strident as in the proposed Comcast-Time Warner merger, it is far from a certainty.

A group of state attorneys general was formed recently to look into the deal as well. The top state legal officers said they were also investigating the Comcast/Time Warner deal. 

Consumer groups tend to hate both deals, saying they amount to nothing more than consolidation that will limit consumer choice and drive up prices. 

“For the amount of money and debt AT&T and Comcast are collectively shelling out for their respective mega-deals, they could deploy super-fast, gigabit-fiber broadband service to every single home in America,” Free Press president Craig Aaron said recently. 

“But these companies don’t care about providing better services or even connecting more Americans. It’s about eliminating the last shred of competition in a communications sector that’s already dominated by too few players,” Aaron said.

It's the disease that everyone is fearing most right now -- Ebola. We could be dealing with more than a million cases of Ebola by January if efforts to tackle the disease outbreak are not drastically escalated.

Ebola has been reported in monkeys, apes, rodents, pigs, bats, porcupines, and dogs. So how safe are our pets?

For the moment, of course, Ebola is not found in North America and the danger remains centered in West Africa. But dogs in infested areas can contract Ebola as a result of eating or coming in contact with an infected animal, likely a fruit bat or a mouse. 

Pet dogs and hunting dogs in West Africa have tested positive for the Ebola virus, but they showed no signs of being infected, said Michael San Filippo, senior media relations specialist for the American Veterinary Medical Association. The dogs did not get sick and did not die.

In other words, while dogs are able to contract Ebola, they do so asymptomatically. That means, while they can be a carrier of Ebola, they won’t present any of the symptoms and will remain unaffected by the condition.

The thing is -- dogs can carry the disease. They could technically pass it on to us. Although there are no documented cases of that happening, it's something to keep in mind, especially if the disease spreads to the U.S. or if you're traveling in countries where Ebola is found.

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's decision ordering a bogus mortgage assistance and debt relief scheme to pay $5.7 million in refunds to consumers.

“The court decision announced today is a major win for consumers nationwide,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). “It affirms that marketers can’t get away with using misleading sales pitches and then burying ‘disclaimers’ in lengthy documents given to consumers later.”

The case grew out of a complaint that the FTC filed in 2012 against E.M.A. Nationwide and several other defendants, alleging that since at least mid-2010 they operated a call center in Montreal that cold-called thousands of U.S. consumers, including those whose numbers were registered on the Do Not Call Registry, pitching programs that would supposedly help them pay, reduce, or restructure their mortgage and other debts.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the district court’s conclusion that the defendants’ “initial telephone conversations used to solicit consumers consisted almost entirely of material misrepresentations” that created a deceptive “overall net impression” to induce consumers to incur very high costs for virtually worthless services.

The court rejected the defendants’ argument that the district court needed to conduct additional fact-finding proceedings before determining that those misrepresentations were not offset or “cured” by fine-print disclaimers and clarifications in the contracts and other written materials that consumers received only after agreeing to enroll in the defendants’ programs.

In summarizing its ruling, the appellate court wrote, “A court need not look past the first contact with a consumer to determine the net impression from that contact, and a court may consider individual advertisements or messages to determine the net impression. Defendants cannot make considerable material misrepresentations to consumers and then bury corrections and disclaimers in subsequent communications. . . . Therefore, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment.”

A complete list of the defendants in the case can be found here. 

You have a couple of choices when you feel like picking pumpkins. You can pick them right out of the huge box on a pallet at the grocery store or you can do the little fake farm around your neighborhood that turns into a Christmas tree farm the day after Thanksgiving (amazing how that happens) or you can take a trek out to a pumpkin patch and pick 'em like they did in the good ole days.

Anyway you carve it, it will still be spooky for Halloween! Of course there are some tricks and tips to get the absolutely best pumpkin wherever you go. Be advised some pumpkins are better for cooking, some for carving and some for painting. Believe it or not, some have better seeds. Hold your gourds -- we will explain.

Choosing the perfect Jack O'Lantern

Jack O'Lantern pumpkins have thick walls and a fibrous flesh that can stand up to being carved. They have hollow cavities perfect for holding candles. They were bred to be sculpted.

What to look for:

• You want it firm and heavy for its size.
• The coloring should be consistent throughout.
• Turn it over on the bottom -- if it flexes or gives it's not fresh.
• Look for mold or wrinkle cuts, soft spots that would mean it will spoil early.
• Find a pumpkin that has a good solid stem.
• A green stem means a freshly harvested pumpkin.
• Put the pumpkin on a flat surface to make sure it sits well after being carved.

Finding the right painting pumpkin

Orange Smoothie, Cotton Candy and Lumina are all good varieties for painting pumpkins. They come equipped with smooth skin and shallow ribbing. These are good-eating pumpkins as well so use a non-toxic paint so you can eat them when you and your little Van Gogh are done painting.

The best pumpkin pie

We're talking about a real pumpkin pie, not one from a can. For this you want a Cinderella pumpkin.

Cinderella pumpkins are the real deal -- supposedly the ones the Pilgrims used. Their name came from Cinderella's carriage that her fairy Godmother created from a pumpkin for the magical ride to the ball.

Their flavor is good for pie or winter squash. Sugar pies are the modern baking pumpkin. If you want to bake pies and want a pumpkin instead of a squash this is your baby.

The best pumpkin seeds

You can eat the seeds from any variety of pumpkin. Some are bigger and some are smaller. Some of them have very thick hulls. The best for roasted pumpkin seeds come from the Kakai pumpkin -- these seeds are completely hullless. They are very attractive with their bright orange and green stripes.

Life span

Now that you have picked your pumpkin, you probably are wondering how long it will last. Steve Reiners, a horticulturist at Cornell University, says it depends on the state of the pumpkin and the weather.

"If the pumpkin was healthy when picked and diseases were controlled in the field, the pumpkin can last 8 to 12 weeks." He adds that Jack O'Lanterns don't fare as well: They last 5 to 10 days.

The best storage temperature for pumpkins ranges between 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, he says. But cold weather can cut into a pumpkin's lifespan. A light frost might cause a little discoloration; the pumpkin won't fare well if temperatures drop below freezing.

If all else fails you can always go to a craft store and get one of those plastic pumpkins complete with a light bulb. The problem with that is, you miss all the fun!

Shellshock, a newly discovered security flaw in a type of software widely used in UNIX, Linux and Mac OS X systems, is considered even worse than last April's “Heartbleed” security flaw, and Heartbleed was bad enough and far-reaching enough to threaten any [supposedly secure] website using OpenSSL encryption.

The list of potentially infected sites from Heartbleed included Yahoo and the FBI, and it's only a slight exaggeration to say, “As a result of Heartbleed, dang-near everybody on the Internet had to change dang-near every password they had.”

Shellshock, also called simply “the BASH bug,” is even worse. After all: “change your passwords” is something you can actually do, an active step you take to protect yourself. So far, though, it appears there's no equivalent step ordinary, everyday Internet users can take to protect themselves from Shellshock; identifying and fixing the problem is in the hands of webmasters and systems administrators.

Even worse: Heartbleed would only allow hackers to see what you were doing on or with your computer; they couldn't actually control it. Hackers exploiting the BASH bug might be able to.

BASH is an acronym for Bourne Again Shell, an open-source software system found in UNIX-type systems. Like all shells, it basically translates commands (from a server or website) into something which your computer or device can read.

The newly discovered security bug basically lets hackers take over the shell and slip in malicious bits of code.

In home-security (rather than computer-security) terms, Heartbleed was like a situation where the front door to everybody's house suddenly unlocked all at once, so everybody had to lock their doors (change their passwords) before any burglars walked in through those unlocked doors to steal things. But the BASH bug is more like a new device a burglar can use to break into a locked door.

The security flaw is bad enough that the U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team issued a security alert to “experienced users and administrators” – another subtle reminder that, while everyday Intenet users are at risk from Shellshock, there's little if anything they personally can do about it.

Consumers gearing up to celebrate the spookiest holiday of the year have retailers anticipating more costumes than ever flying off the shelves.

According to to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Halloween Consumer Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, more than two-thirds (67.4%) of celebrants will buy Halloween costumes for the holiday -- the most in the survey’s 11-year history.

Additionally, the average person is expected to spend $77.52 this Halloween, up almost $2.50 from last year. That means total spending on Halloween this year could hit $7.4 billion.

“As one of the fastest-growing consumer holidays, Halloween has retailers of all shapes and sizes preparing their stores and websites for the busy fall shopping season,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “There’s no question that the variety of adult, child and even pet costumes now available has driven the demand and popularity of Halloween among consumers of all ages. And, with the holiday falling on a Friday this year, we fully expect there will be a record number of consumers taking to the streets, visiting haunted houses and throwing unforgettable celebrations.”

Costumes for everyone

Party-goers are expected to splurge on spooky and fun garb to wear this year, spending $2.8 billion on costumes overall. Specifically, celebrants are projected to shell out $1.1 billion on children’s costumes, and $1.4 billion on adult costumes. And Fido and Fluffy will not be forgotten, with consumers spending $350 million on costumes for their furry friends.

Candy and greeting cards alike will be popular items this season, as consumers will spend $2.2 billion on candy this year and 35.9% of people will be sending Halloween greeting cards. With consumers planning to spend $2 billion on decorations for the frightful holiday, life-size ghosts, pumpkins and festive decor will be aplenty on lawns and doorsteps throughout the country.

Consumers will celebrate the holiday in many different ways, but topping the list of planned activities is handing out candy (71.1%), while others will decorate their homes and yards (46.7%), and dress in costume (45.8%). One-third of will be throw or attend a party (33.4%), compared with last year's30.9%.

Early shopping

Much like last year, consumers will hit the stores and the Internet early to get the first pick of costumes and candy. According to the survey, nearly one-third of celebrants (32.1%) say they will start their Halloween shopping before the first of October. And, while 43.3% kick off their shopping in the first 2 weeks of October, one-quarter (24.6%) will wait until the last minute and shop the last 2 weeks of October.

While the bulk of shoppers will look for costume inspiration online (34.2%) or in a retail store or costume shop (33%), Pinterest is a growing source of inspiration this year. The survey found 11.4% will turn to Pinterest for costume ideas, versus 9.3% last year. Young adults will drive the most Pinterest traffic: 21.2% of 18-24 year olds will turn to the popular site for ideas, as will 21.0% of 25-34 year olds.

“Social media is a great tool for consumers to find inspiration for all of their Halloween activities, including finding tips for decorating their homes and yards, looking for personal and even family costume ideas, and even finding the best deals from retailers,” said Prosper Insights Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “As the popularity of Halloween continues to grow to unseen levels, there is no doubt that Americans this year will find ways to get in the spirit, looking for affordable, fun ways to celebrate with their families.”

For some consumers the U.S. economy is still top-of-mind. According to the survey, 18.8% say the state of the U.S. economy will affect their Halloween spending plans. Specifically, nearly two in five (19.7%) of those affected will utilize their creative skills and make their own costumes rather than buy a new one this Halloween.

After falling to the lowest level since July a week earlier, first-time applications for state unemployment benefits moved higher last week.

Government figures show initial jobless claims were at a seasonally adjusted total of 293,000 -- an increase of 12,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 to 281,000.

Even with the sizeable increase, the total was 7,000 below the consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

The governmnt says there were no special factors affecting this week's initial claims, leading analysts to speculate that the job market is near full employment. That would suggest a sizeable payroll creation when the employment report for September is released in early October.

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile and considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, dipped 1,250 from the previous week -- to 298,500.

The full report is avaliable on the Labor Department website.

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 1,814 model year 2013 Audi Q7 vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, to November 29, 2012 and equipped with a 3.0L TDI engine.

A check valve in the engine of the vehicles may become contaminated with plastic debris and allow engine oil to leak into the brake booster. That could cause the brake booster diaphragm to rupture resulting in a loss of power braking assist, and increasing the risk of a crash.

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace a vacuum line, free of charge. Dealers will also inspect the brake booster system for oil contamination and, if oil contamination is present, additional components will be replaced, free of charge.

The recall began on September 24, 2014.

Owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47L8.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing is recalling 132,624 model year 2014 Toyota Tundra CrewMax and Double Cab vehicles manufactured July 29, 2013, to August 22, 2014.

Due to the possible misinstallation of the upper tab of the B-pillar interior trim, the Curtain-Shield Air Bags may not deploy properly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the B-pillar interior trim installation and will replace it if it is not installed correctly, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on September 30, 2014.

Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.

Gold Star Smoked Fish Corp., of Brooklyn, N.Y., is recalling Cold Smoked Steelhead in Vacuum Pack with blue and gold label.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recalled product is packaged in clear plastic vacuum bag for food service distribution and has a white label with a code 244 affixed on the back of the bag. The UPC Number on the front label is 021 143140026.

It was sold in New York, New Jersey and Florida as a food service item to be weighed at point of sale.

Consumers who purchased Cold Smoked Steelhead should not consume it and should return it to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 718-522-5480.

Americans take a lot of pills, one reason the pharmaceutical industry is so profitable. These drugs have gotten more powerful over the years, making them more effective in some cases and more dangerous in others.

Prescription painkillers are so potent that users can develop an addiction if they aren't careful. Opioid-based drugs, in particular, have been abused in recent years, creating dependence and severe problems with withdrawal.

They can also kill when taken in an overdose, and federal health officials say that's been happening with alarming frequency. In a data brief the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the age-adjusted rate for opioid-analgesic poisoning deaths nearly quadrupled from 1.4 per 100,000 in 1999 to 5.4 per 100,000 in 2011.

Drugs like hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone were involved in 11,693 drug-poisoning deaths in 2011, up from 2,749 deaths in 1999. The only good news in the CDC report is the overdose death rate has declined slightly since 2006.

Most common injury

More people are injured by poisoning than by any other method in the U.S. and the CDC says drugs – both illegal drugs like heroin and legal prescription drugs – are the primary source of poisoning. Drugs have accounted for 90% of poisoning deaths since 2011.

If you think the dramatic rise in overdose deaths is because teenagers are raiding their parents' medicine cabinets for a good time, you would be wrong. According to the CDC, the biggest increase in pain killer overdose deaths over the last decade was older adults, age 55 to 64.

In many cases pain killer overdose deaths resulted from taking a combination of drugs, particularly different kinds of pain drugs. The CDC says identifying populations at high risk for drug poisoning death should be the first step in putting together targeted prevention strategies.

What to do

The Mayo Clinic maintains that prescription drug abuse is not all that common among patients who are taking painkillers to treat a medical condition, a position that appears to be at odds with the CDC finding. However, if you are taking a prescribed pain killer, Mayo suggests some things you can do to avoid dependence or overdose.

• Make sure you're getting the right medication. When you see your doctor, make sure the doctor clearly understands your condition and the signs and symptoms it's causing.
• Stay in contact with your doctor. Make sure that the medication you're taking is working and you're taking the right dose.
• Follow directions. It sounds overly simple but many cases of accidental overdose are because the patient wasn't using the medication the way it was prescribed.
• Understand what you are taking. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the effects of your medication so you know what to expect.
• Never use another person's prescription. Everyone's different. Even if you have a similar medical condition, it may not be the right medication or dose for you.

Preventing overdose deaths among teens

Prescription pain killer abuse was widely reported among teens until recently, when heroin became plentiful and cheap. Even so, young people may be at special risk.

Any talk with kids about drugs should include the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Parents who are taking a prescription pain killer for a medical condition should keep the medication in a secure place.

Make sure you child isn't ordering prescription drugs online. Some websites sell counterfeit and dangerous drugs that may not require a prescription.  

How sturdy is Apple's new iPhone 6, anyway? An ever-growing number of customers are saying that the phone has a tendency to bend from the pressure when carried in people's pants pockets.

TechCrunch reported it yesterday, noting that every time a new Apple device is launched, looking for the first flaw in it has become a popular sport. “Unfortunately, this year we haven’t been able to come up with something entirely new. With the iPhone 6 and, more pointedly, the iPhone 6 Plus, reports suggest that the phone will bend when left in a pocket, seated, for a prolonged period of time.”

TechCrunch also noted that there were similar complaints about the iPhone 5 when it first came out.

The Washington Post picked up the story at 3:30 a.m. (Eastern time), reporting that “The new iPhone 6 bends,” and before 9:30 that morning, the Post updated its story to say that “Questions about the supposed bent iPhone 6 are now showing up on the [official] Apple users forum, without, so far, a response from Apple. The actual number of people claiming to have encountered this issue remains very limited.”

Disaster!

However limited the number might be in the official Apple forum, it's exploded on Twitter under the hashtag #bendgate. A typical complaint came from Alan Pope @popey, who also tweeted a photo to illustrate his complaint: “Disaster! Took phone out of my pocket and it's bent.”

At the same time, Apple also had its share of defenders, both on Twitter and elsewhere. “In all fairness, anyone who puts a gadget made of aluminium in their back pocket and sits down deserves for it to bend.”

Wired's Gadget Lab blog seemingly had little patience for the whole affair, pointing out that “Duh: Of course the iPhone 6 Plus can bend in your pocket.”

Meanwhile, the gadget reviewer Unbox Therapy posted a video to his YouTube channel called “The iPhone 6 bend test.”

He said, “Normally, I wouldn't do a video like this, but I woke up this morning and saw a number of reports claiming that the iPhone 6 Plus was bending inside of people's pockets.”

The bend test

So he carefully inspected his own phone, which he'd been using and carrying for the past couple of days, and “noticed a tiny little indentation toward the center of the device.” He was then able to make that small indentation grow into a full-fledged bend by applying pressure to the ends of it — that said, it's not known just how much pressure he applied, either.

Unbox Therapy also posted a “follow-up” video applying the bend test to the Samsung Galaxy, claiming that it did not bend. (Assuming this is true, there's a very simple explanation why: the Galaxy case is plastic, not metal.)

Even if the latest iPhone iteration is more likely to bend than you should reasonably expect from a device of that particular size and composition, there does appear one way for Apple users to avoid the problem: take it out of your pants pocket before you sit down, especially if you're wearing tight pants. The same holds true if you have a Galaxy or any other type of phone: maybe your device won't bend, but under enough pressure, anything can break.

One industry expert says the bending isn't all that surprising. 

"This is Apple's first device with a phablet sized screen, but it is not the first bending issues to surface on larger devices like the Galaxy S4," said David Anderson of Protect Your Bubble, a warranty provider for iPhones and other devices. "There have been many customers who have broken their screens or bent their devices by sitting on them while in their back pockets."

Anderson said there have even been previous cases of Apple's iPhone 5 and 5s having bending issues when put under a lot of stress.

"As the screens and devices get larger and thinner it will simply take less stress on their metal frames to bendm" he said. 

For the last several years, Walmart has been edging closer and closer to the banking business, at least partly in response to the high fees that have caused many low-income consumers to abandon commercial bank checking accounts.

Today, the giant retailer jumped in with both feet, announcing the nationwide rollout of GoBank, a checking account from Green Dot Bank that's available exclusively through Walmart stores.

GoBank checking accounts will offer a checking acount and linked MasterCard debit card with no monthly fees for customers using direct deposit. There will also be no overdraft fees or minimum balance fees, the companies said.

The product will be available nationwide by the end of October.

“Many so-called ‘free’ checking accounts aren’t really free because they have high overdraft fees. In fact, an independent study by Bretton Woods estimates that consumers pay approximately $218 - $314 per year for a basic checking account,” said Steve Streit, founder and CEO of Green Dot Corporation and chairman of Green Dot Bank. “GoBank is breaking down the barriers to traditional banking and brings the benefits of a FDIC-insured checking account that’s loaded with features to a large segment of Americans.”

Walmart says the checking account is part of its "checking alternatives" line-up, which includes money transfer services, money cards and Walmart-branded credit cards.

“Walmart customers want easier ways to manage their everyday finances and increasingly feel they just aren’t getting value from traditional banking because of high fees,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart U.S. “GoBank gives our customers yet another option as to how they manage their money.”

Fees & features

Details of the GoBank account:

Fees: There are no minimum balance requirements, NSF or overdraft fees -- not even NSF fees on bad checks. With a qualifying direct deposit of $500 per month, the monthly membership cost of $8.95 is waived. GoBank also features an 42,000 free ATMs.

Money Management: Instant person-to-person payments, pay-anyone bill pay, innovative budgeting tools and more.

Access: Neither a ChexSystems score nor credit bureau rating is used as the basis for determining customer eligibility. Instead, GoBank uses proprietary underwriting techniques to allow almost any consumer who passes ID verification to open an account.

Paychecks: GoBank offers early payroll direct deposit so customers can get their paycheck deposited earlier than their normal payday if their employer notifies GoBank of a deposit in advance.

Money Vault: The Money Vault is an integrated bank account, with deposits insured by the FDIC, where customers can easily put money away. In real time, they can move money into the vault for safekeeping or out of the vault to be accessed with their debit MasterCard.

“Fortune Teller” feature: “Remember that time you won the lottery? I don’t either.” This is a response a customer might see from GoBank’s “Fortune Teller,” if they try to spend beyond their budget. “Fortune Teller” crosschecks the price of an item with a customer’s planned income and expenses, and if they can’t afford it, they’ll be advised in real-time to pass on the purchase.

We all have stuff we see every single day and don't think about because they are common household items, or they're things that just stay in their place without moving.

But many of these things need to move because they can be dangerous to your health the longer they sit. Most have an expiration date but for some reason we just don't really notice.

Here are some of the most notable:

The sponge

The dishwasher is there but it's so much easier to use the sponge and it saves a ton of electricity. Better watch that sponge though if you have had it more than a month, it's a germ collector. You can clean your sponge in the microwave but do it within a month. You should pretty well know by the smell and the touch when it's time.

The liquor cabinet

Unlike wine, once liquor is bottled it stops aging. So that 12-year-old Scotch you bought in Edinburgh 10 years ago is still just a 12-year-old bottle. The Vermouth can go, though, if it's been open for longer than three months — so store your next bottle in the fridge.

Liqueurs should be thrown out if they were opened more than a couple of years ago. To make things easier some brands, like Baileys, actually list an expiration date on the bottle. Sherries and ports are very delicate and once opened last only a few fleeting days or, at most, weeks. Anything older than two months needs to go.

Oxygen is no friend of alcohol. The less liquid left in a bottle the faster you should finish it. Take off the cap and take a whiff. If you don't like the smell it needs to head for the can, otherwise start pouring.

Cosmetics

Hopefully you aren't eating your make up. It does have an expiration date though. Here are some rules of face painting. 

You can often safely store unopened cosmetics for a long time in a dark, cool place, such as a drawer or closet. However, once a product has been opened and used, oxidation begins and bacteria can spread.

Mascara can be kept for 3-6 months. It is one of the most volatile products in any beauty kit. If mascara smells or changes texture, throw it out to avoid a bacterial invasion.

Eye shadow is good for about six months (cream) to two years (powder). Although eye shadow tends to last longer than other types of makeup, you should still watch for signs of wear. Toss eye shadow when pigments change or if you notice waxy buildup.

Lipstick can last 2 years. But although lipstick can last quite a while, remember that it contains water, moisturizers and hydrators and is easily infiltrated by bacteria. When it smells like crayons, it's time to toss.

Spice of life

The shelf life of spices varies, and you never really need to worry about them going “bad” like other foods do. For example, a bottle of curry powder that’s been around a questionable amount of time probably won’t make you sick … it will just be less potent.

Lots of people use a “six-month rule” when it comes to discarding most spices. Mccormick, the spice people, really give you a long leeway with their products. To put it simply when you buy spices you get your money's worth. Ground spices last 3-4 years, whole spices, 4 years, seasoning blends 1-2 years.

Your pillow

You know, that fluffy thing you rub your head on all night. Within two years pillows used every day lose their stuffing and become thin and bumpy. Fold your pillows in half, and if they stay folded, it's time to toss. They never come back once you wash them. Time for new if it folds in two.

Pearly whites

Your toothbrush lasts longer then you may think. All that Italian sauce on your pizza and the blue cotton candy from the fair seem to keep your brush pretty busy but it has a shelf life of 3-4 months. After that it's time to toss and floss.

These are just some of the things lying around the house that may need to get the heave-ho. Look closely once you start you may find a treasure trove of expired items -- and how exciting that is because now you can go out and start to replace them!

Often overlooked in the numerous discussions about the urgency of retirement saving are the potential obstacles for the self-employed.

People who are self-employed, either as business owners or independent contractors, don't have access to employer pensions or employer matches to retirement accounts. They're on their own when it comes to saving for retirement.

Michelle Perry Higgins, a financial advisor and Principal of California Financial Advisors in San Ramon, Calif., says that for a number of reasons, the self-employed often find it hard to save for retirement.

Unpredictable income

“A key characteristic of self-employed people, both business owners and independent contractors, is that their income is likely to be more unpredictable than that of employees,” she told ConsumerAffairs. “Business owners may have seasonable income flows or be subject to other market forces. They also tend to invest all their time and spare income in their businesses. Independent contractors may have difficulty lining up jobs consistently. Both practically and psychologically, the situation of both groups makes it difficult for them to save consistently for retirement and this is a huge problem.”

Granted, cash-flow is a major challenge for people who don't get a paycheck every two weeks. But the consensus of financial experts surveyed by U.S. News recently was that people who work for themselves should be putting way 15% to 20% of their salary for retirement.

But many self-employed might ask, “what salary?” Thomas Goodson, founder and CEO of a financial planning and wealth management firm in Santa Barbara, Calif., told the magazine that most small business owners pay themselves last, especially in the formative years of the business.

Counting their chickens

Higgins says many self-employed put off saving because they expect a windfall before they retire.

“Business owners may believe that they will be bailed out by selling their business,” she said. “The risk is that they don’t get the price they think they should get and are left with little for retirement after years of hard work.”

For business owners and independent contractors who want to get started on a retirement savings plan, the Simplified Employee Pension IRA, or SEP IRA, is a good vehicle. In fact, it is a retirement plan specifically designed for anyone with self-employment income. Contributions are tax deductible so it helps you build up savings while reducing your taxable income.

While you don't have a boss to match your contributions, your contribution is, in fact, an employer contribution. It doesn't come directly from your paycheck but from the business' gross earnings. Since you are not only the owner but an employee, the company is allowed to contribute up to 25% of your salary – up to $52,000 per participant this tax year.

Flexible

As someone who is self-employed, you are not required to contribute the same percentage of compensation every year. You can vary the percentage or even skip a year. However, if you have employees, you must contribute the same percentage of compensation for each employee who is eligible.

A SEP IRA is a retirement saving option if you are a sole proprietor, in a business partnership, own a business or you are an independent contractor earning self-employment income.

IRS Publication 560 has more information.