Current Events in October 2014

The string of gains in builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family has ended at 4.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) /Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) dropped 5 points to a level of 54 in October, which NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly says is “in line with the gradual pace of the housing recovery.”

While there was a dip this month, builders are still positive about the housing market. “After the HMI posted a 9-year high in September, it’s not surprising to see the number drop in October,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “However, historically low mortgage interest rates, steady job gains, and significant pent up demand all point to continued growth of the housing market.”

Surveying the builders

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next 6 months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.”

The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three HMI components declined this month. The index gauging current sales conditions fell 6 points to 57, while the index measuring expectations for future sales slipped 3 points to 64 and the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers dropped 6 points to 41.

Looking at the 3-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast and Midwest were unchanged at 41 and 59, respectively. The South rose 2 points to 58 and the West registered a 1-point loss to 57.

First-time applications for state unemployment benefits have fallen to their lowest level in 14 years.

According to the Labor Department (DOL), claims plunged 23,000 in the week ending October 11 to a seasonally 264,000. That's is the lowest level since April 15, 2000, 259,000 claims were filed.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting an increase to 290,000.

Sterne Agee Chief Economist Lindsey M. Piegza calls the decline a “welcomed improvement,” but adds that while claims have been declining for several months, “that hasn't yet translated into high-wage, full-time employment.”

Other analysts speculate that the improvement may be an indication that the slack in the labor market may be drying up.

The 4-week moving average, which is not as volatile and is considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, was down 4,250 to 283,500 -- the lowest level for this average since June 10, 2000, when it was 283,500.

The full report is available on the DOL website.

Chrysler is recalling 313,236 model year 2011-2013 Jeep Wrangler vehicles manufactured February 16, 2010, to July 19, 2013.

Corrosion in the exterior heated power mirror electrical connector may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will move the exterior mirror power feed to a separate connector, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 5, 2014.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is P61.

General Motors is recalling 97,540 model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles.

The chassis electronic module in the affected vehicles may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short. If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14515.

Chrysler Group is recalling 434,581 model year 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, Durango, and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured June 17, 2010, to December 23, 2013, and equipped with a 3.6L engine and a 160 amp alternator.

The alternator may suddenly fail. If this happens the vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.

Chrysler is expected to begin notifying owners of this recall on November 28, 2014. The remedy for this recall campaign is still under development.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is P60.

Toys R Us of Wayne, N.J., is recalling about 36,000 Just Like Home toy toaster sets in the U.S. and Canada.

The plastic toast, under pressure, can crack and break into small pieces creating sharp edges and posing a choking hazard.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

The recall includes the Just Like Home brand toy toaster sets. The teal blue plastic toy toaster has silver trim around the slice opening on top, with an orange slider handle on the side and orange 3-dimensional adjustment knob outlined with orange dots in a half moon shape on the face of the toaster in the left bottom corner. “Just like home” is printed in white on the front right bottom corner of the toaster.

The toaster measures about 4 inches high by 5-1/2 inches long by 2 inches wide. The toaster set was sold with two plastic toast slices and two plastic half bagel slice accessories. Model number 5F60589 is printed on a white label on the bottom of the toaster and above the UPC bar code in the lower right hand corner of the product packaging.

The toaster set, manufactured in China, was sold exclusively at Toys R Us stores nationwide and online at www.toysrus.com from July 2013, through August 2014, for about $10.

Consumers should immediately take this product away from children and return it to any Toys R Us to receive a full refund.

Consumers may contact Toys R Us at (800) 869-7787 anytime.

When the price of gasoline goes down, as it has since August, consumers typically don't question why. They just fill up and consider themselves lucky for now, waiting for the inevitable price spike.

A month ago the national average price of self-serve regular was $3.40, which was down significantly from the month before. But today the average price is below $3.20 a gallon, with motorists paying well below $3 in a handful of states, according to AAA.

It provides a nice break for consumers heading into the holiday season, but can it last? It just might.

In an exclusive this week, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabian oil officials have privately told industry colleagues they would be comfortable with lower oil prices for an extended period of time.

For years the world price of oil has hovered north of $100 a barrel. The Saudis reportedly said they wouldn't mind if the price continued to fall, to between $80 and $90 a barrel.

2 year respite?

There are many factors that affect the price of gasoline but the price of oil is a big one. If oil sold between $80 and $90 a barrel for an extended period – and the Saudis are reportedly talking about 2 years – then the price of gasoline should remain at present levels, or even drift lower.

Why would Saudi Arabia, which depends on its oil revenue for nearly all of its income, so willingly accept lower prices? Do they finally feel sorry for U.S. consumers? Hardly.

Because Saudi Arabia is so dependent on oil revenue it has become extremely worried about the shale oil revolution in the U.S., that has dramatically increased domestic production and made the U.S. less reliant on foreign sources. The Saudis see this as a significant long-term threat.

But extracting oil from shale is an expensive process. As long as the price of oil has remained over $100 a barrel, U.S. oil production has been highly profitable. If the price falls below $90, however, it cuts into shale oil profit margins.

There will be less money for research and development. In short, it's a squeeze play.

According to Reuters, the Saudis appear willing to sacrifice short-term profits for a long-term strategy to weaken a competitor. Whether it works remains to be seen but it suggests how potent a force the Saudis consider U.S. shale.

Speculators find oil less attractive

In the meantime, U.S. consumers stand to benefit. Once it becomes clear that the price of oil is on the decline, there will be less hedge fund money in the oil futures market, money that in the past has tended to drive up the price.

But won't rising global economic activity increase demand for oil and drive up the price? That was the reason we were given for oil's price surge in the mid 2000s.

It's a different story now, with economic activity slowing world-wide, especially in Europe. The supply and demand factor seems to be favoring the U.S. consumer, at least for now.

Finally, U.S. motorists are benefiting from a strong dollar. The U.S. currency rose sharply in the third quarter and is still gaining strength against other currencies. Since oil is priced in dollars, it takes fewer dollars to buy the same quantity of oil as it did a year ago.

None of these appear to be systemic changes but neither do they appear to be short-term trends. The end result is that filling up might not be quite as painful for some time to come.

A prestigious group of German scientists is warning that the Ebola virus is spreading rapidly and to an unexpected extent and they say the current outbreak is not following the patterns seen in the past and is showing "a new disease dynamic in regions where it has never been recorded before."

"The Ebola virus epidemic on this scale presents completely new challenges, both to the countries that are directly affected and the international community," the scientists said. "Germany, together with other industrialized countries, has an important role to play here."

In a statement issued today, the German National Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, and the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, among others, said new vaccines and antivirals are urgently needed.

"Even if the pathogen should temporarily disappear again, research must continue as a precautionary measure because another outbreak is highly probable," they said. "Such precautionary measures must also include ensuring that sufficient quantities of available vaccines and antivirals are stockpiled in case of a new outbreak."

They noted that while the vast majority of cases in the current outbreak have been in Western Africa, the "possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries."

"Entirely different"

Since its discovery in 1976, there have been repeated outbreaks of the Ebola virus, which were generally contained to remote regions of Central Africa and never amounted to more than 500 cases, the German scientists noted but said the current outbreak of the virus is entirely different from past outbreaks.

"Over 8,000 cases were registered by 5 October 2014. About half of the people infected have died. The death toll includes many doctors and nursing staff and an end to the outbreak is not in sight," they noted.

Doctors Without Borders and the European Mobile Laboratory Project were the first to come to the region in March 2014. From very early on, these organizations have repeatedly said that the outbreak will not be contained without a massive increase in medical and epidemiological aid, they said.

The Ebola virus

Ebola viruses are transmitted from animals to humans. Fruit bats are presumed to be the natural reservoir of the virus. The Zaire species of Ebola virus, responsible for the current outbreak in West Africa, causes a particularly severe form. The disease progresses primarily with massive virus proliferation and immune dysfunction. The main symptoms are fever, diarrhea, vomiting and impaired coagulation, leading to multiple organ failure and shock.

Initial examinations of the genetic material have shown that the virus is different from past strains with numerous genetic mutations, but the significance of this is not known, the scientists said.

Cable news has been howling over the possibility that the dog owned by a Dallas nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for a patient might be infected with the disease, a possibility we reported back in September.

But although pet dogs could play a role in spreading the disease, it's bats and other wild creatures who are more likely to have been the source of the latest outbreak.

You can't blame the bats though. It's the humans who hunt and eat bats and other "bushmeat" who actually provide the pathway for the virus to move from one species to another.

Batty for bushmeat

Why would anyone eat bats? Good question and one that a team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)  set out to answer. They interviewed nearly 600 people in southern Ghana to find out what drives the popularity of "bushmeat" -- a term loosely applied to wild meat.

Knowing who eats bushmeat and why, as well as how they perceive the risks, is important for informing both disease and conservation management plans, said Cambridge professor Olivier Restif, who said the Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat is widely hunted and eaten in Ghana even though it carries a risk of infection with "zoonotic" pathogens – diseases transmitted from animal to man.

Hunting, butchering and consuming wild animals for food can potentially transmit these infections through bites, scratches, bodily fluids, tissue and excrement, Restif and his colleagues said.

Bats in particular appear to host more zoonotic viruses per species than any other group of mammals, yet very little is known about how humans and bats interact, how people perceive bats and their accompanying disease risk, or who is most at risk.

Smoked bat

The researchers found that hunters used a variety of means to capture bats, including shooting, netting and scavenging, and that all of the hunters reported handling live bats, coming into contact with bat blood and getting scratched or bitten. None of the hunters reported using protective measures, such as gloves.

Scavenged bats were collected alive, usually when a branch broke and bats fell to the ground, but this too carried risks: four interviewees explained how people would fight over the bats when a large branch fell, sometimes even lying down on top of bats to prevent others from taking them, often sustaining bites and scratches.

The bats were prepared and cooked in a number of ways, the most common methods being to smoke the bats before preparing food and using the bats in soup. At odds with reports from other countries, the survey in South East Ghana revealed few uses of bat bushmeat associated with traditional beliefs or medical practices.

In Ghana, bat bushmeat seems to function as both subsistence and luxury food. The large number of hunters who hunt for themselves or who keep some of their catch suggests that bats provide a readily available source of animal protein. At the same time, high taste ratings among consumers and relatively high prices suggest that bat meat is seen as a "luxury food" in Ghana.

More information is available online. 

In the last decade more people have sought a college education and paid more for it. Tuition costs have skyrocketed and so has the amount of money students owe for college loans.

Mark Cuban, billionaire investor and entrepreneur, says rising student loan debt is crushing the U.S. economy, preventing recent graduates from buying the things that normally stimulate the economy. Cuban has offered a rather simple fix.

In an interview with CNBC this week, Cuban called for a cap on the amount of federally-guaranteed student loan money any individual can borrow in a year. With a loan cap, he argues, colleges will have no choice but to reduce tuition.

His comments this week were, in fact, a repeat of those made over the summer at a business conference sponsored by Inc. Magazine.

Educational arms race

Cuban's comments reflect many of the same views we uncovered when we reported on skyrocketing college costs back in 2007. At the time, economist Joel Naroff, of Naroff Economic Advisors, pointed to an educational arms race, with elite private schools pushing the tuition enveloping and public universities scrambling to catch up.

"There is very little pressure of any kind to keep costs down at private schools," Naroff told ConsumerAffairs at the time. "For most of the private schools, especially the better and elite schools, the more expensive it is, the more elite it is, and the more having a degree from that school is a perceived value."

Cuban is now saying that the U.S. government can end this arms race – and perhaps help the U.S. economy – by reducing the money flow to higher education. He suggests limiting the amount of student loan debt to $10,000 per student per year.

Easy money

The current system, he argues, has created an “easy money” mentality among college administrators, who don't always use the money wisely, or in ways that benefit the economy. He uses the example of a college “building a better fitness center” to attract students.

Because there is plenty of money coming in – through higher tuition paid for with student loans – spending just increases, and so does tuition, in a classic inflationary spiral.

“Anytime you create easy money, you're gonna create a bubble or inflation and that's what's happening with college tuition,” Cuban said.

Regulators are concerned

Cuban isn't the only one worried about surging college loan balances, though not everyone may agree with his prescription. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) first raised the alarm when student loan balances went over the $1 trillion mark in 2013. The total has only risen since then and is currently north of $1.2 trillion.

CFPB has launched a “Know Before You Owe” program to educated students about the dangers of too much student loan debt before they take it on.

There are so many styles and labels for parenting lately. When I grew up it was just parenting period -- you either had weird parents or cool parents, there was no in-between. Now there are “helicopter,” “Velcro,” “snowplow” parents, “tiger mom” – all titles we use to vilify styles of parenting in today's culture.

There is one more -- it's called "attachment parenting" and just FYI it's Attachment Parenting Month in October. I don't believe Hallmark has a card for it nor is there a commemorative ribbon. At least not yet.

Janet Jendron is the board president of Attachment Parenting International and she describes it like this: "Attachment parenting is natural parenting, it's what people have the instincts to do, and that's what's kept the human race going all these years. It's being close, feeding on demand and all of that."

These are, we're told, the “8 Principles of Attachment Parenting:”

Prepare for pregnancy and birth

Become emotionally and physically prepared for pregnancy and birth. Research available options for healthcare providers and birthing environments, and become informed about routine newborn care. Continuously educate yourself about developmental stages of childhood, setting realistic expectations and remaining flexible.

Feed with love & respect

Breastfeeding is the optimal way to satisfy an infant's nutritional and emotional needs. "Bottle nursing" adapts breastfeeding behaviors to bottle-feeding to help initiate a secure attachment. Follow the feeding cues for both infants and children, encouraging them to eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. Offer healthy food choices and model healthy eating behavior.

Respond with sensitivity

Build the foundation of trust and empathy beginning in infancy. Tune in to what your child is communicating to you, then respond consistently and appropriately. Babies cannot be expected to self-soothe, they need calm, loving, empathetic parents to help them learn to regulate their emotions. Respond sensitively to a child who is hurting or expressing strong emotion, and share in their joy.

Use nurturing touch (babywear!)

Touch meets a baby's needs for physical contact, affection, security, stimulation, and movement. Skin-to-skin contact is especially effective, such as during breastfeeding, bathing, or massage. Carrying or babywearing also meets this need while on the go. Hugs, snuggling, back rubs, massage, and physical play help meet this need in older children.

Ensure safe sleep

Babies and children have needs at night just as they do during the day -- from hunger, loneliness, and fear, to feeling too hot or too cold. They rely on parents to soothe them and help them regulate their intense emotions. Sleep training techniques can have detrimental physiological and psychological effects. Safe co-sleeping has benefits to both babies and parents.

Provide consistent, loving care

Babies and young children have an intense need for the physical presence of a consistent, loving, responsive caregiver, ideally a parent. If it becomes necessary, choose an alternate caregiver who has formed a bond with the child and who cares for him in a way that strengthens the attachment relationship. Keep schedules flexible, and minimize stress and fear during short separations.

Practice positive discipline

Positive discipline helps a child develop a conscience guided by his own internal discipline and compassion for others. Discipline that is empathetic, loving, and respectful strengthens the connection between parent and child. Rather than reacting to behavior, discover the needs leading to the behavior. Communicate and craft solutions together while keeping everyone's dignity intact.

Strive for balance 

It is easier to be emotionally responsive when you feel in balance. Create a support network, set realistic goals, put people before things, and don't be afraid to say "no." Recognize individual needs within the family and meet them to the greatest extent possible without compromising your physical and emotional health. Be creative, have fun with parenting, and take time to care for yourself.

Not everyone agrees

Jendron says her group's mission is to educate and support all parents in raising secure, joyful, and empathic children in order to strengthen families and create a more compassionate world. It's hard to argue with that but there are some details that raise hackles.

Many critics take issue with the notion of on-demand feeding. And "co-sleeping" is condemned by experts if it takes place in the same bed, primarily because of the danger of suffocation.

See the group's website to learn more. 

There's just one thing that keeps many consumers from giving their cable TV service the heave-ho. And that, of course, is HBO. But that won't be true much longer.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler said today the premium pay-TV channel will launch a standalone, online streaming service next year, aimed at the 10 million people who have broadband but don't subscribe to a cable TV service.

“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,” he said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO. So, in 2015, we will launch a standalone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States.”

Plepler was speaking at a Time Warner investor day meeting. He didn't offer any details about pricing.

While this will be good news to many consumers, it's likely to make the day a little more dreary over at Comcast, Charter, Cox, et al. It puts Netflix on notice that it has some serious competition. Amazon has produced a few standalone shows but Netflix has basically had the premium content field to itself until now.

A group of marketers who allegedly tricked consumers into buying phony health insurance has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that includes a permanent ban against selling healthcare-related products.

The defendants, who operated as the bogus trade association Independent Association of Businesses (IAB), were accused of preying on consumers who sought health insurance.

Under the alleged scheme, consumers who submitted their contact information to websites purportedly offering quotes from health insurance companies paid an initial fee ranging from $50 to several hundred dollars, and a monthly fee ranging from $40 to $1,000 purportedly for comprehensive health insurance coverage, but instead they were enrolled in an IAB membership.

Included in the program were purported discounts on services such as identity-theft protection, travel, and roadside assistance, as well as certain purported healthcare related benefits, including limited discounts and reimbursements on visits to certain doctors or hospitals, subject to broad exclusions and limitations.

The settlements

In 2012, the FTC charged the IAB defendants and those who ran IAB’s largest telemarketing operation with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). A federal court halted the operation until the case was resolved. A settlement order announced in last year bans the telemarketing defendants from selling healthcare-related products.

This latest settlement order permanently bans the remaining defendants from selling healthcare-related products. It also prohibits them from violating the TSR, misrepresenting material facts about any goods or services, and selling or otherwise benefiting from consumers’ personal information.

The defendants include IAB Marketing Associates LP, Independent Association of Businesses, HealthCorp International Inc., JW Marketing Designs LLC, International Marketing Agencies LP, International Marketing Management LLC, Wood LLC, James C. Wood, his sons, James J. Wood and Michael J. Wood, and his brother, Gary D. Wood. It also resolves the FTC’s claims against relief defendant Tressa K. Wood, James C. Wood’s wife, who benefited from but did not participate in the alleged scheme.

The order also imposes a $125 million judgment that will be partially suspended once the defendants surrender assets valued at almost $2 million, including $502,000 in IRA funds and personal property that includes five luxury cars (a Lamborghini, two Mercedes, a Porsche, and an MG Roadster).

A separate settlement order requires relief defendant Avis. K. Wood to pay $60,000 from an IRA account that was funded by the defendants’ allegedly unlawful activities.

After posting gains for seven consecutive months, retail sales slipped 0.3% in September to $442.7 billion.

Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau show major factors in the decline were sagging sales at clothing stores (-1.2%) and auto dealers (-0.8%). Even with the decline, overall sales were up 4.3% from the same month a year ago.

In addition to clothing stores and auto dealers, losers during September include furniture and home furnishing stores and gas stations (both -0.8%) and building material and garden supply dealers (-1.1%).

On the other hand, electronics and appliance stores saw sales surge 3.4%, while food services and drinking place posted a gain of 0.6%.

The complete retail sales report is available on the Commerce Department website.

Inflation

Separately, the Labor Department (DOL) is reporting drops in energy and food costs sent the producer price index (PPI) down 0.1% in September, the first decline since August 2013.

With both food and energy costs down 0.7% last month, the “core rate” of wholesale inflation was up just 0.2%.

The full PPI report may be found on the DOL website

Another rise in applications for mortgages -- the second in as many weeks.

Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey show applications were up 5.6% in the week ending October 10.

At the same time, the Refinance Index shot up 11% from the previous week, taking the refinance share of mortgage activity up 3% -- to 59% of total applications, the highest level since February 2014.

The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.0% of total applications.

“Growing concerns about weak economic growth in Europe caused a flight to quality into US assets last week, leading to sharp drops in interest rates,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economist. “Mortgage rates for most loan products fell to their lowest level since June 2013. Refinance application volume reached the highest level since June 2014 as a result, with conventional refinance volume at its highest since February 2014.”

Contract interest rates

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) fell 10 basis points -- from 4.30% to 4.20%, the lowest since June 2013, with points decreasing to 0.17 from 0.19 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) dropped to 4.14%, the lowest since May 2013, from 4.21%, with points falling to 0.10 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs backed by the FHA Plunged 10 basis points to 3.90%, the lowest since June 2013, with points decreasing to 0.08 from 0.15 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs decreased to 3.41%, the lowest since July 2014, from 3.48%, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.32 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased plummeted 15 basis points to 3.05%, the lowest since June 2013, with points rising to 0.38 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

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

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is recalling approximately 423,000 Lexus vehicles including 2007 - 2010 model year LS; 2006 - 2011 model year GS; 2006 - 2011 model year IS; 2010 model year IS C and 2008 - 2010 model year IS-F vehicles.

The fuel delivery pipes in the engine compartment of the recalled vehicles were manufactured with a plating to protect against corrosion. Some of the pipes could have been produced with plating particles on the gasket seating surface where the fuel pressure sensor is installed.

In this condition, the sealing property of the gasket seated between the pressure sensor and the pipe could become degraded. During vehicle operation, fuel could leak past the gasket. In the presence of an ignition source, this could increase the risk of a vehicle fire.

The company says it is unaware of any fires, crashes, injuries or fatalities caused by this condition.

Owners of the vehicles involved will receive a notification by first class mail. Lexus dealers will repair the gasket seating surface of the fuel delivery pipe where the fuel pressure sensor is installed, replace the gasket with a new one, and re-install the fuel pressure sensor.

Lexus owners may obtain more information by calling customer service at 1-800-255-3987.

Two health trends are converging and the result is likely to be bad news. More and more infectious diseases are showing up in the population. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies are producing fewer antibiotics to fight them.

Part of the problem is that antibiotics, discovered in the early 20th century, have been overused. Over the years bacteria have come along that have acquired an immunity and are nearly impervious to them.

These “superbugs” have emerged as a serious threat. In 2012, for example, there were about 450,000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

In September, President Obama issued an Executive Order committing the U.S. government to “detecting, preventing, and controlling antibiotic resistance,” placing the issue on the front burner. In the order Obama cited statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing at that of the 2 million Americans sickened each year from antibiotic resistant infections, 23,000 die.

It's personal

For Michael Kinch, associate vice chancellor and director of the Center for Research Innovation in Business, it's personal. A few years ago his 12-year-old son nearly died after his appendix burst. Only 2 of the 6 antibiotics he received had any effect, and they happened to be the 2 oldest drugs.

“It’s not that my son had had extensive exposure to antibiotics,” Kinch said. “We’re all just colonized by resistant bacteria now.”

So doctors now are more careful about prescribing antibiotics – which may be a good thing. But perhaps as a result, drug companies are making fewer of them. After all, they are in business to make drugs that get prescribed.

Fewer antibiotics

Kinch says there are other factors at work. He notes that the number of antibiotics available for clinical use has dwindled to 96 from a peak of 113 in 2000.

That number will probably continue to decline. Kinch says the rate of withdrawals – antibiotics removed from the market – is double the rate of new introductions.

The reasons for the withdrawals vary. Some drugs just don't work anymore. Some are now considered too toxic or have been replaced by new versions of the same drug.

But Kinch says the trend is unmistakable. Antibiotics are declining because pharmaceutical companies are leaving the business of antibiotic discovery and development.

Getting out of the business

For example, Pfizer or its predecessors developed 40 of the 155 antibiotics ever sold in this country. Kinch says that today, Pfizer doesn't sell an antibiotic. He says Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb have all left the field.

Government health officials have already noted the shortage of new antibiotics that can be effective against these new multi-drug resistant bacteria and are concerned.

“There is an urgent need to address the lack of effective treatments to meet the increasing public health burden caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria,” a 2011 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study warned.

The good news is that, despite initial reports claiming otherwise, Dropbox was not hacked.

The bad news is that apparently, up to 7 million individual Dropbox customers were. Why? Because those 7 million Dropbox users ignored (or simply didn't know) the important online safety rule “Never use the same password across multiple accounts.”

Yesterday, Anton Mityagin writing on the official Dropbox Blog announced that:

Recent news articles claiming that Dropbox was hacked aren’t true. Your stuff is safe. The usernames and passwords referenced in these articles were stolen from unrelated services, not Dropbox. Attackers then used these stolen credentials to try to log in to sites across the internet, including Dropbox.

StubHub redux

It's basically a much larger-scale version of the StubHub non-hacking from last July: over a thousand StubHub accounts were compromised and used to fraudulently buy tickets, though StubHub's own database was never breached. The hackers had broken into and stolen passwords from various other websites, discussion forums and password-protected online places, and discovered that at least some of those stolen passwords worked in the victims' StubHub accounts, too.

It does appear that when hackers successfully steal the password to one of your accounts, they'll try plugging that password into your other accounts on the off-chance it will work. Where over 1,000 StubHub customers last summer were concerned, it did. And it may have worked for up to 7 million Dropbox customers as well.

Something similar happened with Gmail last month: initial reports said that Russian hackers had stolen 5 million Gmail passwords, though it turned out that the passwords were stolen not from Gmail itself, but from various registration-required sites where people used a Gmail account to register.

So the Dropbox “hacking” appears similar to that earlier “hackings” of Gmail and StubHub: the only Dropbox users who need worry about it are those who still follow the dangerous habit of using the same password across multiple online accounts.

If you have two or more online accounts with the same password, even if none of those accounts are with Dropbox, you need to change the password for every such account you have.

In the 60's lava lamps were considered futuristic. You could stare at them all night with the lights off and say groovy! With the lava lamp came a new design for lamps and before you know it we had LED lightbulbs -- the point being the light bulb has evolved.

Many things have followed into the contemporary world thanks to technology. Remember the old saying, "If these walls could talk?" Well, wallpaper has gone the way of technology. Now, as far as I know, it doesn't actually talk yet, but it does light up.

There is a new design concept and it is to make wallpaper the focal point of a room. Manufacturers are embedding LED lights into their designs to add ambiance. Some companies are using heat- and light-sensitive materials that cause changes in what you see on the wall depending on the temperature and light in the room.

If you had a night filled with drinking and can't wait to flop into bed and just stare at the walls, I can't really imagine that would be a good thing, but perhaps it would have a calming effect.

Most likely you won't be seeing these at Home Depot or Lowes just yet, but they are available online or through a designer that has an "in" with the manufacturer. Basically you need a designer with connections.

If you are interested in the LED lights that are embedded in the wallpaper try meystyle.com or Ingo Maurer's architects-paper.com.

“LED wallpaper opens up very exciting possibilities to illuminate rooms: Dimmed, enigmatic light hardly revealing where it is coming from, or a vibrant metropolitan atmosphere are just a few options. It’s magic!" Ingo Maurer said. "Another big advantage is that the LED wallpaper can be hung in any number of strips and lengths according to the architecture and furnishing of a room. Interior designers have the choice.”

Heat it up

If you want to heat things up what better way than with your walls? Consider Columbia Road, whose website describes it like this: "Columbia Road heat sensitive is a five-colour screen printed wallpaper. One layer of ink is printed using thermochromic ink which is affected by a temperature rise (ie heat from radiators/hot water pipes or very strong sunlight) this allows certain areas of the design to temporarily change and reveal hidden images throughout the paper, then disappear again as the paper cools to room temperature."

Wallpaper is coming into its own all right. It's not like the stuff you put into your first apartment that was full of adhesives and had that little floral pattern. Its actually gone "Green."

Wallpaper is now made out of recycled materials, organic cotton and water-based inks. Some is even made from FSC-certified paper. That means that the nonprofit Forest Stewardship Council certified the paper and it comes from responsibly managed forests.

Wallpaper is a little more expensive than paint and the environmental papers are a little pricier yet, but it's an investment in a place you call home and plus think of all the extras you get with LED lights and temperature control. It might save on art for the walls and lamps.

If you are cold at night, just snuggle up with a good book and the wall.