Current Events in March 2015

Can't stand the thought of going vegetarian? The good news is you don't have to. You can go "pro-vegetarian" and reap similar benefits, according to a new study present at an American Heart Association meeting.

A pro-vegetarian diet is one that has a higher proportion of plant-based foods compared to animal-based foods and a study of more than 450,000 Europeans links it to lower risks of dying from heart disease and stroke.

In the observational study, researchers analyzed the eating and lifestyle habits of 451,256 Europeans. People who ate the most pro-vegetarian style diets (70 percent of food coming from plant sources) had a 20 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, compared to those who were the least pro-vegetarian.

"A pro-vegetarian diet doesn't make absolute recommendations about specific nutrients. It focuses on increasing the proportion of plant-based foods relative to animal-based foods, which results in an improved nutritionally balance diet," said Camille Lassale, Ph.D., lead author and an epidemiologist at Imperial College London's School of Public Health.

The American Heart Association recommends following a heart-healthy diet, which could also be described as a pro-vegetarian diet. It is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, beans, and nuts, low-fat dairy, beans, skinless poultry, and fish. It encourages eating foods low in saturated and trans fats and sodium, and limiting added sugars and red meats.

In the study, researchers analyzed the relationship between eating habits and death risks from heart disease and stroke.

"Instead of drastic avoidance of animal-based foods, substituting some of the meat in your diet with plant-based sources may be a very simple, useful way to lower cardiovascular mortality," said Lassale. These findings are in line with the wealth of evidence on benefits of eating plant foods to prevent CVD.

Study details

Participants were part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, started in 1992. The study included nearly half a million people from 10 countries who were free of chronic diseases at the start of the study, 35 to 70 years and followed for 12 years on average.

Information was collected on their height, weight, food consumption by self-reported food frequency questionnaires, lifestyle and physical activity habits. Causes, and dates of death were obtained from record linkages with boards of health, and active follow-up of participants.

Researchers scored participants based on the types of foods they ate. Points were given for eating foods from seven plant food groups: vegetables, fruit, beans, cereals, potatoes, nuts, and olive oil. Points were subtracted for five animal food groups: meats, animal fats, eggs, fish, and other seafood or dairy products.

Based on their scores, participants were categorized from the least pro-vegetarian to the most. The results were adjusted for age at the start of the study, gender, daily calories, body mass index, smoking status, physical activity, education, alcohol intake and study center.

Allstar Marketing Group, the company responsible for unleashing Snuggies-brand sleeved blankets and other “As Seen on TV” products upon America, has agreed to pay $8 million and adjust certain of its marketing practices in order to settle various charges filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General. 

Courthouse News reports that the FTC filed a 16-page complaint in Chicago Federal Court on Wednesday, charging Allstar with multiple violations of FTC rules prohibiting “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” The complaint listed and specified five different counts against Allstar, including unauthorized charges, failure to adequately disclose material terms of the offer, failure to disclose total cost, failure to make required oral disclosures, and failure to obtain express informed consent.

The company said it was "pleased" to have settled the case.

“Allstar is pleased to have resolved this matter, and we’re proud that it resulted in positive change for our company. One of our goals has always been to provide a positive purchasing experience for our customers,” said Jennifer De Marco, General Counsel at Allstar. “While we have always believed our processes complied with the law, we are proud to have successfully worked with the FTC and the NY AG to improve them and set new standards for transparency.”

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said the case "brings much needed reforms to a major firm in the direct marketing industry. Those who use small print and hidden fees to inflate charges to unwitting consumers must be held accountable."

Schneiderman also said the agreement "returns money to thousands of consumers in New York and across the nation who believed they were buying items at the price advertised on television, but ended up with extra merchandise and hidden fees they didn’t bargain for.”

The Snuggie itself is, as famously described by comedian Bill Maher back in 2009, a "blanket with arms." Maher used it in a late-night HBO rant as an illustration of the decadence and sloth that, in his view, typifies the U.S. today. 

"Magic Mesh"

The FTC's complaint uses “Magic Mesh” as an example of how Allstar operated. Magic Mesh is touted as a “Hands-Free Screen Door” which, according to its advertisements, lets “fresh air in and keep[s] annoying bugs out.”

The FTC mentioned no problems with Magic Mesh itself, merely in how Allstar sold it and billed for it. Here's what the FTC's court complaint says:

… in a recent Magic Mesh commercial, after the narrator describes the uses for Magic Mesh, the product is said to be available for “just $19.95.” And, for “call[ing] now,” Defendant promises consumers that it will “double the offer, just pay separate processing and handling fees.” In referring to this “deal,” the narrator says, “that's right, you get two Magic Mesh curtains for $19.95, that's less than $10 each.”

Sounds like a pretty good deal. So what's the problem?

During the Magic Mesh commercial, the narrator never discloses that Allstar charges $7.95 for “processing and handling” for each Magic Mesh. Nor does the Narrator disclose that it is not possible to decline the second “free” Magic Mesh, meaning that the minimum “processing and handling” fee that the Defendant charges is actually $15.90. In reality, Defendant's undisclosed processing and handling fees nearly double the advertised cost of the Magic Mesh from $19.95 to $35.85. Defendant offers many of its other products in a similar manner.

"Deceptive and misleading"

But wait! There's more! The FTC complaint goes on to discuss the problems faced by customers who'd call the toll-free numbers mentioned at the end of various Allstar product commercials: basically, you'd get snarled in an automatic “Interactive Voice Recognition” (IVR) telephone system, which the FTC calls “deceptive and misleading.”

At the outset, customers are instructed to input their name and address, followed by their credit or debit card number. Defendant collects consumers' billing information … before consumers have indicated how many products they are ordering and before Allstar discloses the total cost of consumers' orders.

For instance, when ordering Defendant's Magic Mesh products, immediately after entering billing information, the recording announces, “Great, we have you down for one Magic Mesh set.” Prior to this point, however, consumers have never indicated how many Magic Mesh products they would like to order …. Despite neither disclosing quantity nor price, however, Defendant immediately charges consumers who enter their billing information for at least one “set,” which includes the buy-one-get-one-free promotion, of the main product being offered.

So if you made this phone call and stayed on the line long enough to give them your payment card number, you already “ordered” one item, actually two including the “free” (except for processing and handling fees) item, whether you knew it or not.

Then, according to the FTC, Allstar's IVR process would force you to slog through multiple upsell offers deliberately made as confusing as possible, so as to trick customers into ordering even more. And “Finally, Defendant's refund policy makes it virtually impossible for consumers to receive a full refund for products they never intended to purchase in the first instance.”

Bear in mind: though Allstar's wares are all “As Seen on TV”-types of products, not all “As Seen on TV” products are from Allstar. Indeed, the FTC's complaints against Allstar sound very similar to complaints which the state of New Jersey filed last summer against “Telebrands,” another peddler of various “Seen on TV” products including the “Pocket Hose” and “Aluma Wallet.”

Telebrands and Allstar were both accused of fraudulent billing and aggressive upselling practices, of making it difficult if not impossible for customers to return their purchases and get refunds, and of using an automatic “Interactive Voice Response” system to subject customers to a lengthy and confusing purchase process.

Brick-and-mortar

If you're an off-hours television-watcher who really, truly wants to buy whatever “Seen on TV” products the infomercials are peddling during the commercial breaks, here's a piece of advice: do not call the toll-free number on the commercial, and do not order off their website either.

In other words, don't do anything that will put your credit or debit card information in the hands whoever's behind those infomercials. You don't have to. The thing about modern “As Seen on TV” products is that they can also be bought in regular brick-and-mortar retail stores—often for less money than what the infomercials charge, too.

Depending on which part of the country you live in, there's a good chance your local shopping mall has an actual “As Seen on TV” store. Also, many different retail chain stores have sections dedicated to selling “As Seen on TV” merchandise. A partial listing of retailers who sell “As Seen on TV” products includes: Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Big Lots, and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

When you buy “As Seen on TV” products in a regular retail store, those products are covered by the store's regular return policy – and you don't usually have to worry about aggressive or outright fraudulent automated upsellers hiding extra charges on your payment card, either.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a four-year reauthorization bill for Amtrak yesterday before flying home for the weekend. But over in the Senate, all the traffic was about highways and there's no telling when the Amtrak measure will get back on the mainline.

You could get the impression that Congress likes dogs more than people, given the speed with which the House included a provision that lets dogs and cats go along for the ride on Amtrak.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) has been the engineer of the Amtrak reauthorization and, inspired by his French bulldog Lilly, has pushed for the pets-on-trains initiative.

Whether the Senate is ready to roll is another question. The Senate Commerce Committee has been more focused on freight trains of late. But Politico reports that senators may wrap freight and passenger legislation together in a larger, more comprehensive bill.

Freight train safety remains a key issue and some senators are holding out for a "positive control" measure that would require trains to be equipped with a mechanism that would apply the brakes automatically in an emergency.

There's also concern about grade crossings, highlighted by the recent accident involving the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Harlem Line in New York.

The House version

The House measure -- known officially as the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act (PRRIA) -- is one of those interesting Congressional creations that both helps and hinders rail travel.

According to Denham, the measure "improves rail infrastructure, reduces costs, leverages private sector resources, creates greater accountability and transparency, and accelerates project delivery for Amtrak and the nation’s passenger rail transportation system."

But it doesn't give the green light to every rail project and, in fact, would derail projects like the ambitious but controversial California high-speed rail proposal, which Denham calls a "disaster."

“PRRIA will help modernize our passenger rail systems and make Amtrak run more like a business,” Denham said. “This is a good, bipartisan bill that for the first time authorizes Amtrak in a fiscally responsible manner while also saving American families time and money."

"Importantly for Californians, it prevents another disaster like California high speed rail from wasting taxpayer dollars. California’s high speed rail proposal no longer looks anything like what voters approved.”

The project seeks to build a high-speed rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco, routed through the Central Valley region. Denham, of Modesto, represents a big part of the Central Valley, where many residents view the project as a boondoggle. Somewhere around $6 billion has been spent on it so far.

Under PRRIA, if grant applicants cannot complete their proposed projects and operate at full capacity within 20 years, any funds provided on by the federal government would have to be returned on a pro-rated basis.

So, while Lilly might be able to catch a ride home from D.C. to Modesto, she'll have to fly or hitch a ride if she wants to continue on to L.A. or San Francisco. 

While there weren't as many planned job cuts in February as there were the month before, the total still topped 50,000.

The Challenger, Gray & Christmas monthly job report shows employers planned to eliminate 50,579 payroll positions -- 5% fewer than the 53,041 in January. Nonetheless, the February total was up 21% from a year ago, when 41,835 pink slips went out marking the third consecutive monthly job-cut total that exceeded the comparable year-ago figure.

During the first 2 months of this year, employers have planned 103,620 terminations -- 19% from the 86,942 job cuts recorded during the same period in 2014.

Oil prices a big factor

The energy sector saw the heaviest job cutting in last month 16,339 jobs disappearing -- due primarily to oil prices.

Falling oil prices have been responsible for 39,621 job cuts, to date, representing 38% of all recorded workforce reductions announced in the first two months of 2015. In February, 36% of all job cuts (18,299) were blamed on oil prices.

“Oil exploration and extraction companies, as well as the companies that supply them, are definitely feeling the impact of the lowest oil prices since 2009,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “These companies, while reluctant to completely shutter operations, are being forced to trim payrolls to contain costs.”

Challenger says that while oil-related companies will see profits slide, the net impact of falling oil prices will likely be positive for the economy, as a whole. “Some economists are estimating that GDP could see a 0.5 percentage point boost from low oil prices, due mostly to the extra spending power among consumers,” he said. On the other hand, “companies that are big users of oil, such as transportation firms, airlines and manufacturers of plastic and paint products will see higher profits thanks to cheap oil.”

Indeed, in a January survey by the National Association for Business Economics, 50% of in-house corporate economists said falling oil prices have already had a positive impact on their firms.

Cheap oil does not yet appear to be helping stem the tide of job cuts in the retail sector, which saw the second highest number of job cuts in February with 9,163. Employers in the sector have announced 15,862 job cuts so far this year -- little-changed from the first 2 months of 2014.

Jobless claims

From the government, meanwhile word of another increase in first-time applications for unemployment benefits.

According to the Labor Department (DOL) initial claims were up 7,000 in the week ending February 28 to 320,000.

The 4-week moving average, which is considered a better gauge of the labor market because it strips out the volatility of the weekly tally, rose 10,250 -- to 304,750.

The full report is available on the DOL website.

Bavarian Meats of Seattle, Wash., is recalling approximately 1,400 pounds of Bavarian Brand Loaf products.

The product contains soy, a known allergen not declared on the label.

There are no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The following products were produced prior to March 2, 2015, and are being recalled:

• 5 lb., 1 lb., and ½ lb. packages containing “Bavarian Meats Bavarian Brand Loaf.”

The recalled products bear the establishment number “EST. 6431” inside the USDA mark of inspection, and were shipped to wholesale and retail locations in Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Consumers with questions about the recall may contact Lynn Hofstatter, at (206) 448-3540.

Just how safe is Apple Pay, anyway? Apple's “mobile wallet,” a standard feature on the iPhone 6, first became available last October, and not only offered people the ability to pay for things with their mobile device (as opposed to carrying a credit or debit card with them), it also promised to be far more secure than traditional American credit card purchases.

Hence the huge upset this week, when the Wall Street Journal reported that “Fraud comes to Apple Pay”:

It didn’t take long for fraud to find its way to Apple Pay .

Some banks are seeing a growing incidence of fraud on Apple’s mobile-payment service as criminals exploit vulnerabilities in the verification process of adding a credit card, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hardly an anomaly

The Journal, in turn, learned this from Cherian Abraham, a payment expert for Drop Labs, who on Feb. 22 published a blog post “Explaining the current state of Apple Pay fraud.” And that current state sounds pretty awful: according to Abraham, it is “hardly an anomaly” for fraud to appear in as much as 6% of all Apple Pay transactions, compared to a mere 0.1% of transactions with regular plastic credit cards.

Sounds like a catastrophe for Apple Pay. Yet it's a little more complicated than that: the security gap isn't with Apple Pay itself, but with the credit cards being attached to Apple Pay accounts. As the Guardianexplained: “crooks have not broken the secure encryption around Apple Pay’s fingerprint-activated wireless payment mechanism. Instead, they are setting up new iPhones with stolen personal information, and then calling banks to 'provision' the victim’s card on the phone to use it to buy goods....”

To make an analogy: imagine an old-fashioned bank vault secured with a special new kind of lock that's guaranteed impossible to open unless you have the key. Without the key to open the lock, not even the most talented lockpicker or safecracker in the world can get into that vault.

So the lock can never be broken or picked, but that does not mean the vault can never be robbed — it simply means that would-be robbers have to obtain a copy of the key first. And in this analogy, Apple Pay did a great job in creating unpickable bank-vault locks; problem is, the banks themselves have been very careless in handing out copies of the keys. And there's nothing Apple can do to fix the problem; it's the banks who need to improve their key-sharing protocols.

Fortunately, the banks have a strong motivation to do this, since they're the ones losing money from this fraud — not Apple Pay, and not the various merchants who accept it. As the Trustev anti-fraud blog pointed out, “The banks are the ones footing the bill here, and taking huge losses in the land rush to be everyone's default credit card for Apple Pay. It's on them, not Apple, to solve the issue.”

Alarmed by an increase in the smoking rate, health departments around the country are doubling down on their efforts to persuade consumer to quit.

In New York City, the health department is distributing a one-minute television ad, “Last Dance,” produced in Australia by Quit Victoria. The ad depicts a man dying from smoking-related cancer having a last dance with his wife while their child looks on.

The new ad depicts the harsh truth about smoking – it not only devastates the health of smokers, but also families who must care for the smoker and are ultimately left behind to mourn the loss of their loved one. The ad ends by asking smokers to quit smoking today.

The NYC health department estimates its efforts in the past have motivated more than 700,000 requests to seek assistance in quitting over the last nine years. But the current rate of adult smokers has increased from 14% – its lowest point – in 2010 to 16.1% in 2013. There are currently over 1 million smokers in New York City.

“As smoking rates begin to increase in New York City, the use of powerful media campaigns is more important than ever,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. “Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps one can take to improve their health. We encourage every smoker to use this campaign as a reason to quit smoking today.”

Smoking remains the leading cause of premature, preventable death in the United States. It causes cancer, heart disease, emphysema and many other illnesses. Each year, there are an estimated 12,000 smoking-related deaths in New York City alone.

For-profit telemarketers raised $302 million for charity from New Yorkers in 2013. They kept $156 million, more than half. That's according to a report, "Pennies for Charity," released today by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.

“New Yorkers who are generous enough to donate their hard-earned money to charity deserve to know how that money is really spent, including how much is used to pay for-profit telemarketers,” Schneiderman said. “Our Pennies for Charity report is an important tool for transparency because it informs the donating public what portion of their charitable contributions made through telemarketers went to the outside fundraisers’, and how much was left to support charitable programs.”

At 48%, the share of funds raised by for-profit telemarketers that went to charity in 2013 increased significantly in comparison to 2012, when only 37% of the funds raised went to the charitable missions donors intended to support. The Pennies for Charity report has been published annually for the last 12 years, drawing attention to this issue.

Other significant findings from analyzing the 573 fundraising campaigns covered in the Attorney General’s report include:

• In 75%, or 435 of the 573, the charities retained less than 50 percent of the funds raised.
• In 49.2%, or 282 of the 573 campaigns, the charities retained less than 30% of the funds raised or expenses exceeded contributions.
• Of the 573 campaigns, 316 were conducted on behalf of organizations located outside of New York.

Expensive and intrusive

Despite improvements in the share of funds going to charitable purposes, Schneiderman said telemarketing remains an expensive and intrusive method of raising funds for charity, and suffers from significant limitations compared to other forms of fundraising:

• it encourages “me-too” charities which sound like respected and effective charities, but are much less effective; for example, the well-known “Make-a-Wish Foundations” and the me-too “Kids Wish Network,” which pays out more than 2/3 of its telemarketing revenue to fundraisers;
• the largely anonymous interaction between telemarketer staff, located at a remote call center, and the call recipient is difficult to detail after the fact, making policing or proof of misrepresentation difficult;
• many charities fail to actively monitor the fundraisers they engage and hold them accountable. The Attorney General has found a number of fundraisers with significant histories of violations who continue to secure fundraising contracts, seemingly with little board oversight or involvement.

What to do

chneiderman issued the following tips when making donations via phone solicitation:

Resist Pressure To Give On The Spot.If you receive a call from a telemarketer, do not feel pressured to give over the phone. You can ask to receive information about the cause and a solicitation by mail.
Ask The Telemarketer. Ask the caller what programs are conducted by the charity, how much of your donation will be used for charitable programs, how much the telemarketer is being paid and how much of your donation the charity is guaranteed.
Ask How Your Donation Will Be Used. Ask specifically how the charity plans to use your donation, including the services and organizations your donation will support. Avoid charities that make emotional appeals and are vague in answering your questions. Be wary if an organization will not provide written information about its charitable programs and finances upon request. Any legitimate organization will be glad to send you this information.
Look Up Charities. Review information about the charity before you give. The Attorney General’s interactive website allows potential donors to easily search the "Pennies for Charity" report by the name of the charity or by region in New York State.Also confirm that the charity is eligible to receive tax-deductible donations by searching the IRS website.
Give To Established Charities. Donate to organizations you are familiar with or ones with a verifiable record of success in meeting their charitable missions. Closely examine charities with names similar to more established organizations.
Never Give Cash. It's best to give your contribution by check made payable directly to the charity. This is safer than giving by credit or debit card and far safer than sending cash. Be careful about disclosing personal or financial information; never give out such information to an organization or individual you don't know.

February didn't quite measure up to January in terms of job growth. But the difference is unremarkable.

According to the February ADP National Employment Report, private sector employment increased by 212,000 last month compared with creation of 213,000 in January.

"While February’s job gains came in slightly lower than recent months, the trend of solid growth above

200,000 jobs per month continued,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. “What is also encouraging is that job gains are broad-based across all key industries.”

The report, produced by the payroll firm in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Small and medium-sized firms lead the way

Payrolls for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased by 94,000 in February, versus 97,000 in January. Among companies with 50-499 employment increased by 63,000 a significant drop from the 106,000 jobs created the previous month.

The number of new positions at large companies -- those with 500 or more employees -- increased from January, 56,000 compared with 47,000, while companies with 500-999 employees added 18,000 -- 2,000 more than in January. Companies with over 1,000 employees added

38,000 jobs, versus 30,000 the previous month.

Goods-producing employment rose by 31,000 jobs in February, with the construction industry adding 31,000 jobs, the same as last month. Manufacturing, however, added just 3,000 jobs following a surge of 15,00 in January.

Employment in firms that provide services was up by 181,000 jobs -- down 25,000 from January. Professional/business services contributed 34,000 jobs, and trade/transportation/utilities grew by 31,000. Additionally there were 20,000 new jobs in financial activities is an increase -- the largest gain in that sector since March 2006.

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi points out that job growth is strong, but slowing from the torrid pace of recent months. “Job gains remain broad-based, although the collapse in oil prices has begun to weigh on energy-related employment,” he said, adding, “at the current pace of growth, the economy will return to full employment by mid-2016.”

After falling in the previous 2 weeks, applications for mortgages rose 0.1% during the week ending February 27, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

The Refinance Index was up 1%, while the refinance share of mortgage activity was unchanged at 62% of total applications. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.4% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications fell to 14.6% this week from 15.3% last week, the VA share rose to 9.8% from 9.6% last week and the USDA share dipped to 0.8% from 0.9%.

Contract interest rates

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) dipped 3 basis points -- to 3.96% from 3.99% -- with points decreasing to 0.30 from 0.33 (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) fell from 4.09% to to 3.95%, with points increasing to 0.27 from 0.21 (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 declined 6 basis points to 3.76%, with points increasing to 0.21 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 slipped to 3.27% from 3.28%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate was unchanged from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs plunged 23 basis points to 3.05%, with points rising to 0.50 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

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

For decades the health effects of America's favorite morning beverage have been the subject of debate.

In the early 1970s research suggested drinking coffee was bad for your heart. A couple of decades later researchers had come to the opposite conclusion.

The latest research project to weigh in on the subject suggests coffee drinkers may have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that often shows up in young adulthood.

“Caffeine intake has been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and our study shows that coffee intake may also protect against MS, supporting the idea that the drug may have protective effects for the brain,” said study author Dr. Ellen Mowry of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Mowry's work is actually the study of a study. She and her team looked at a Swedish study of 1,629 people with MS and 2,807 healthy people. They also examined a U.S. study of 1,159 people with MS and 1,172 healthy people.

The studies measured coffee consumption among persons with MS 1 and 5 years before MS symptoms began, comparing it to coffee consumption among people who did not have MS.

Six cups a day

The Swedish study found that people who drank at least 6 cups of coffee per day -- what you'd call heavy coffee drinkers -- had a better chance of avoiding the disease.

They reached that conclusion because people who didn't drink coffee at all appeared to have one-and-a-half times the risk of developing MS. The earlier in life you started drinking coffee, it seemed, the better. Drinking large amounts of coffee 5 or 10 years before symptoms typically start was similarly protective.

In the US study, a similar pattern appeared. People who didn’t drink coffee were also about one and a half times more likely to develop the disease than those who drank 4 or more cups of coffee per day in the year before symptoms started to develop the disease.

“Caffeine should be studied for its impact on relapses and long-term disability in MS as well,” said Mowry.

Evolving view of caffeine

Caffeine has only recently come to be viewed as potentially beneficial. In the past health experts were skeptical of the drug because of its tendency to temporarily increase the heart rate and elevate blood pressure.

But coffee's health benefits apparently extend beyond caffeine to the properties in the bean itself. A 2014 study by the National Cancer Institute found that even decaffeinated coffee may be good for the liver.

Previous studies have linked coffee consumption with a lower the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.

"Our findings link total and decaffeinated coffee intake to lower liver enzyme levels. These data suggest that ingredients in coffee, other than caffeine, may promote liver health. Further studies are needed to identify these components," lead researcher Dr. Qian Xiao said at the time.

Not all researchers agree that coffee is a heath beverage. A 2013 study at the University of South Carolina concluded that that drinking four cups a day raises your risk of dying prematurely if you're under 55.

But the researchers concede it might not have anything to do with what's in the coffee. Instead, they say coffee consumption could be related to other unhealthful activities, including heavy drinking and smoking.  

We don't ask too much of toilet seats, but we do expect them to provide a safe and secure seating area.

That's something Kohler promises in its description of the Brevia, a seat that it says "complements a wide variety of elongated toilet designs."

The Brevia features "Quick-Release™ hinges [that] allow seat to be unlatched from toilet for easy removal and convenient cleaning; no tools required," according to the description on Kohler's website, which touts the seat's "Quick-Attach® hardware for fast and secure installation."

Could be, but George of Sun City, Ariz., says his Brevia seat has proven to be anything but secure. In a ConsumerAffairs video review, the 91-year-old says he has fallen twice in less than a month when the seat unexpectedly detached.  

George said he avoided serious injury only because of the grab bars on his bathroom wall and said that had it not been for those bars, he would have been making a 9-1-1 call instead of submitting a video review.

The seat looks nice but has "no structural strength" and should be recalled as a safety hazard, George said.  

George and other consumers who encounter unsafe products should report them to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's online complaint page as well as filing reviews with ConsumerAffairs and other sites. 

Athletes have for years relied on high-protein power bars, to give them an extra burst of energy before a match or competition.

Lately, however, a growing number of busy consumers have been attracted to these products as snacks or meal replacements. According to Statista, U.S. power bar sales rose from $565 million in 2005 to $1.2 billion projected for 2015.

Even though nutrition bars are thought of as part of a healthy protein-centered diet, consumers shouldn't think of them as health food. Most contain lots of sugar, carbohydrates and calories. Remember, these products were originally designed for athletes who need to replace hundreds of calories they have burned off.

The Institute of Food Technologysts (IFT) has tracked 8 emerging trends as manufacturers create different types of power bar products.

Protein

Everyone seems to want more protein in their diet and these bars deliver it. Among the most recent product launches, Food Technology magazine associate editor Melanie Zanoza Bartelme finds soy protein and whey protein among the most prominent ingredients.

Other sources include nuts, lamb and even bison. Plant-based pea protein and microalgae are also finding their way into products. There is also plenty of fiber, an ingredient desired by both athletes and consumers trying to lose weight.

Cricket flour

Crickets are high in protein and so is Cricket flour, which IFT says is also rich in nutrients. Crickets can be raised using less water, feed and space compared to other animal-based protein sources.

Savory flavors

You tend to think of power bars as sweet, almost like a dessert. But an emerging trend is more hearty flavors – things like mango curry, chipotle barbeque, sundried tomato and basil, black olives and walnuts. These types of bars are often promoted as a meal replacement.

Texture

New nutrition bar products aren't all about taste, but texture too. The addition of things like nuts in different sizes, crisps, clusters, and other ingredients can add unexpected texture and flavor to different bars and enhance the eating experience, IFT says.

Seeds and ancient grains

Seeds can be an important and flavorful source of protein. Manufacturers are now featuring pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed, and ancient grains such as amaranth, quinoa, millet, sorghum, teff, and buckwheat in their products.

Alternative binders

Manufacturers appear to be de-emphasizing sugars, especially refined sugar. To add sweetness and bind ingredients together, some are using things like nut butters, dried fruits, brown rice syrup, date syrup, and coconut sugar as binders.

New markets

Athletes are a large, but limited market. There are many more consumers whose idea of a workout is cutting the grass or doing a load of laundry. Manufacturers are now making nutrition bars specifically targeted to women, men, and children. Some of the new bars also target the gluten-free or low-carb markets.

Energy boost

These products were originally called “energy bars” and you'll still find a segment of the market providing an energy boost. These products include stimulants like caffeine to address stress and fatigue.

Read labels

Whatever power, nutrition or energy bar you choose, it's important to read the label for ingredients. If you are trying to lose weight by loading up on fiber, but get a lot of refined sugar in the process, it defeats the purpose.

For athletes, researchers at Vanderbilt University have found that nutritionists tend to favor bars that are high in carbohydrates. These bars, they say, will give a consumer extra energy without extra fat calories.

The Keurig Green Mountain company has lost a lot of popularity lately. And now even its inventor says he's sometimes sorry he ever came up with the idea.

Last year Keurig unveiled a second-generation version of its hot-drink-brewing machines outfitted with a form of “digital rights management” restriction more suitable for proprietary software than everyday appliances: Henceforth, instead of brewing coffee, cocoa and other hot drinks from any properly sized K-cup, as Keurig machines originally did, Keurig 2.0 would only work with properly branded proprietary K-cups.

The plan backfired spectacularly. Keurig fans who bought new machines were angry to learn their old K-cups no longer worked. And, even though the company's DRM restrictions proved ridiculously easy to circumvent (the new machines only work in the presence of an officially branded new K-cup label—but a single label can be re-used almost indefinitely), many former Keurig owners were opposed to Keurig 2.0 machines on general principles.

Second thoughts

So bad has it become that even the inventor of the K-cup has climbed aboard the anti-Keurig bandwagon — though more from stated environmental concerns than any opposition to Keurig's DRM.

John Sylvan, who invented the K-cup as a twentysomething back in the 1990s, told The Atlantic this week that he had some regrets about his invention: “I feel bad sometimes that I ever did it.”

Since brewing coffee in K-cups is vastly more expensive than making the same amount of drip coffee at home, Sylvan figured the single-serve K-cup machines would only ever be used in offices, not in homes.

Wrong. Today, up to one in three American kitchens has a single-serve Keurig or Keurig-style coffee machine –and, although re-usable, refillable coffee pods have been on the market for a couple of years now, as well as various (non-Keurig) brands of single-use pods made from biodegradable materials, the majority of Americans still use disposable plastic K-cups which overwhelmingly are discarded rather than recycled:

…. because the K-Cup is made of that plastic integrated with a filter, grounds, and plastic foil top, there is no easy way to separate the components for recycling. A Venn diagram would likely have little overlap between people who pay for the ultra-convenience of K-Cups and people who care enough to painstakingly disassemble said cups after use.

Still the Internet is littered with stories of personal revelation that pod accumulation can’t be a good thing. ... A commenter on another [food blog] site describes the unsettling experience of regularly walking to work in a financial district past a dumpster full of coffee pods every day. Even in Halifax, Nova Scotia, one of the few places that can recycle category #7 plastic, K-Cups are accumulating in quantities that alarm people who see the waste coming out of offices using the machines. ...

The massive popularity of Keurig machines did not make the K-cup's inventor a multi-millionaire; John Sylvan sold his share of Keurig in 1997 for $50,000. Nor does he use a Keurig himself, telling The Atlantic that: “They're kind of expensive to use ... plus it’s not like drip coffee is tough to make.”

Hispanic Global Way has been banned from telemarketing and selling weight-loss products as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The scheme charged Spanish-speaking consumers for unordered or defective products and made it costly or practically impossible for them to get their money back

“The FTC is on the lookout for scams that rip off consumers in every community,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This case serves as a warning to would-be scammers that targeting Spanish speakers is not a means to fly under the FTC’s radar.”

Complaints ignored

According to the FTC, the defendants used Spanish-language TV ads and Peruvian call centers to sell its products. They then shipped incomplete orders, the wrong or defective products, products of the wrong size or color, and products that did not perform as advertised, including a phony weight-loss belt.

When consumers called to complain, telemarketers either ignored or insulted them, or told them they could not return or exchange products, or that they would have to pay a fee, ranging from $20 to $299, to do so. Those few consumers who were promised refunds or exchanges found they never materialized. A federal judge halted the operation and froze the defendants’ assets, pending litigation.

Settlement terms

The settling defendants have admitted to the allegations and agreed to be banned from telemarketing or selling weight loss products. Under the settlement order, in any future business they must provide refunds or exchanges, free of charge, for incorrect or non-working products, for any program that differs from what was advertised, and when consumers don’t receive gifts promised as an inducement for a purchase.

The defendants are also barred from making material misrepresentations about goods and services and must disclose, before making a sale, any restriction or condition on a refund, cancellation, repurchase, or exchange. They are also prohibited from profiting from, and failing to properly dispose of, customers’ personal information obtained in this case.

The settling defendants are Rafael Martin Hernandez, Maria Gisella Carrasco, Maria Elizabeth Vera, Hispanic Global Way Corp., Hispanic Global Way LLC, Hispanic Global Way Venez Corp, Hispanic Global Way Venez 1 Corp, Gold Lead USA Corporation, Sky Advance Choices Corp., Sky Advance LLC, First Airborne Service Trading Corp, Hispanic Network Connections LLC, and Fast Solutions Plus Corp.

The FTC is seeking default judgments against Grand Team Service Corp. and Roberto Carrasco Macedo.

The settlement order imposes a $50 million judgment that will be suspended upon surrender of all of the defendants’ significant assets, including Carrasco’s North Miami house, U.S. and Peruvian bank accounts, and jewelry; a 2010 Mercedes Benz owned by Hispanic Way; and a life insurance policy and U.S. and Peruvian bank accounts owned by Hernandez.

Lead poisoning is a serious risk for children living in older homes with lead-based paint and in urban areas with high levels of air pollution. It can cause a lifetime of learning problems.

Fortunately, toxic levels of lead can be easily detected by a simple test but, amazingly, many parents refuse to have their children tested.

In New Jersey, about 50,000 children were not tested by the age of three, according to an annual state agency report despite a state law that requires doctors to test children before their second birthday.

The signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in children may include:

• Developmental delay;
• Learning difficulties;
• Irritability;
• Loss of appetite;
• Weight loss;
• Sluggishness and fatigue;
• Abdominal pain;
• Vomiting;
• Constipation; and
• Hearing loss

In New Jersey and many other states, doctors are not obligated to notify a child's school when lead poisoning is found. That creates a serious gap since affected children may need special education or other services. 

"We have to do a better job" addressing lead poisoning," said Jay S. Schneider, a pathology professor and lead poisoning expert at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "We have to recognize that this is still a big problem. There are lots of kids who are being adversely affected by this, who are having their futures taken away from them. It's just an awful thing and it's unnecessary and people are suffering and they shouldn't be."

Every year, more than 5,000 primarily low-income, mostly minority children in New Jersey are found to have high levels of lead. And thousands of lead-poisoned children attend public schools. Lead poisoning is New Jersey's top environmental health threat for children.

A bill in the state legislature would require that information on children's elevated lead levels be given to public schools when students enroll.

The Buick Encore SUV -- along with its newly introduced, lower-priced twin, the Chevrolet Trax -- has qualified for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK award,

The Encore is the first vehicle from the Buick brand to qualify for the award since 2013. The award follows improvements to the SUV's structure for better small overlap front protection. The 2015 model earns a good rating in the small overlap test.

From poor to good

In contrast, the 2013-14 Encore rated poor in the test. The driver's space was seriously compromised with intrusion measuring as much as 13 inches at the lower door hinge pillar. The dummy's head barely contacted the front airbag before sliding off the left side, as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag deployed too late and didn't have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head.

In the latest test, the driver space was maintained reasonably well, with maximum intrusion of 6 inches at the door hinge pillar and instrument panel. The dummy's movement was well-controlled. The head hit the front airbag and remained there until rebound. The side curtain airbag deployed on time and had sufficient forward coverage. Measures taken from the dummy indicated a low risk of injuries in a crash of this severity.

The small overlap test replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or a utility pole. To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK, a vehicle must earn a good or acceptable rating for small overlap protection and a good rating in the Institute's moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests.

The Encore's ratings in the latter four evaluations carry over from 2014.

For the 35^th month in a row, home prices have posted a year-over-year gain

CoreLogic reports its January Home Price Index (HPI) shows that home prices nationwide increased 5.7% last month from the same period a year ago. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide were up 1.1% from December 2014. Both readings include distressed sales -- short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

“House price appreciation has generally been stronger in the western half of the nation and weakest in the mid-Atlantic and northeast states,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “In part, these trends reflect the strength of regional economies.”

Colorado and Texas have had stronger job creation and have seen 8 to 9% price gains over the past 12 months in the combined indexes. In contrast, values were flat or down in Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland in the overall index -- including distressed sales.

Including distressed sales, 27 states and the District of Columbia are at or within 10% of their peak. Four states, New York (+5.6%), Wyoming (+8.3%), Texas (+8.3%) and Colorado (+9.1%), reached new highs in the home price index since January 1976 when the index started.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 5.6% from January 2015 to January 2014 and increased 1.4% month over month compared to December 2014. Also excluding distressed sales, all states and the District of Columbia showed year-over-year home price appreciation in January.

Report highlights

• Including distressed sales, the 5 states with the highest home price appreciation were Colorado (+9.1%), Michigan (+9.0%), Texas (+8.3%), Wyoming (+8.3%) and Nevada (+7.6%).
• Excluding distressed sales, the 5 states with the highest home price appreciation were Colorado (+8.1%), Nevada (+7.9%), Texas (+7.8%), Massachusetts (+7.7%), and Oregon (+7.4%).
• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to January 2015) was -12.7%. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -8.6%.
• Including distressed sales, only Maryland and Connecticut showed losses (-0.3% and -1.9% respectively). The 5 states with the largest peak-to-current declines, including distressed transactions, were Nevada (-35.3%), Florida (-32.6%), Rhode Island (-29.9%), Arizona (-28.6%) and Connecticut (-24.8%).
• Including distressed sales, the U.S. has experienced 35 consecutive months of year-over-year increases; however, the national increase is no longer posting double-digits.
• Ninety-four of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population showed year-over-year increases in January. The 6 CBSAs that showed year-over-year declines were New Orleans-Metairie, La,; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn,; Rochester, N,Y,; Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.; Wilmington, Del.,-Md.,-N.J.; and Hartford-West Hartford- East Hartford, Conn.

The forecast

“We continue to see a strong and progressive uptick in home prices as we enter 2015. We project home prices will continue to rise throughout the year and into 2016,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “A dearth of supply in many parts of the country is a big factor driving up prices. Many homeowners have taken advantage of low rates to refinance their homes, and until we see sustained increases in income levels and employment they could be hunkered down so supplies may remain tight. Demand has picked up as low mortgage rates and the cut in the FHA annual insurance premium reduce monthly payments for prospective home buyers.”

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates home prices -- including distressed sales -- will increase 0.4% month-over-month from January 2015 to February 2015 and, on a year-over-year basis, by 5.3% from January 2015 to January 2016.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices are expected to increase 0.3% month-over-month from January 2015 to February 2015 and by 4.9% year-over-year from January 2015 to January 2016.  

Costco members will be getting a new credit card next year. The wholesale superstore chain has chosen Citigroup to succeed American Express as its exclusive issuer of co-branded cards in the U.S.

Costco said last month that it would be ending its relationship with Amex after the companies were unable to reach agreement on a renewal. There had been speculation that Capital One would snag the account but Citi apparently offered a sweeter deal.

The new arrangement takes effect April 1, 2016, when a co-branded Citi Visa card will become Costco's exclusive card.

The deal is actually two deals -- one with Citi to issue co-branded cards and the other with Visa to provide the payment network. American Express operates both a credit card company and a payment network.

Citi will be buying the existing portfolio of co-branded cards, Costco said in a statement. 

"Once issued, Costco's co-brand Visa credit card would provide generous rewards to Costco members, serve as the Costco membership card, and would be accepted at Costco locations in the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as all merchants worldwide that accept Visa credit cards," Costco said.

"Costco will provide its members with additional information in the coming months regarding the anticipated transition from its existing co-brand credit card program," the company added.

Citi limits?

So does this mean Costco customers will be required to have a Citi-issued Visa card? Probably. Costco said the Citi Visa card would serve as customers' Costco membership card. It might, however, be possible to use a different Visa card to pay for purchases. The companies haven't yet made that clear.

Currently, customers can use any American Express card -- not just the Costo/Amex co-branded Visa card to shop at Costco, presenting their Costco membership card at check-out.   

Currently, customers can also use MasterCard and Visa debit cards at Costco.

Anyway you look at it, it's bad news for American Express, which has said that the Costco account amounts to about 20% of its business. Analysts said Citi would make about $100 million annually off the Costco account.

Amex has been struggling to hold onto market share, while also trying to find ways to encourage its cardholders to put more of their purchases on the card. Its large portfolio of affluent customers makes Amex the biggest U.S. credit card issuer in terms of dollar volume. 

In other words, American Express has fewer cardholders than its biggest competitors but the customers it does have tend to be big spenders.

Amex said last week it would sweeten the deal for its Premier Rewards Gold cardholders.

“We’re making one of our most popular cards even better. This latest investment for our Premier Rewards Gold Card Members is designed to deepen our relationship by providing more value in the areas they spend most -- from everyday spending on things like gas and groceries, to dining and larger travel purchases,” said Lisa Durocher, Senior Vice President, Consumer Charge Cards & Benefits at American Express.