Current Events in April 2015

Access to credit allows you expand the power of your money. Having $25,000 in cash won't pay for much of a house but it might allow you to borrow enough to pay for a very nice home. As long as you appear to a lender to be a good risk.

Credit often gets a bad rap because it is easily misused. When people take on more debt than they can repay, they end up in a downward financial spiral that can end in bankruptcy.

That's why it is important to know what is contained in your credit report, maintained by the three credit reporting agencies Trans Union, Experian and Equifax, and the three-digit number that makes up your credit score.

Don't know

A survey by Chase Slate has found that 39% of U.S. consumers admit to not knowing their credit score and 52% were not aware that not paying bills on time has the largest impact on their credit score.

“Having healthy credit could mean the difference between achieving major life goals, such as buying a home or starting a small business, and never realizing those dreams,” said Pam Codispoti, President of the Mass Affluent Business for Chase Card Services. “Yet too many Americans don’t have access to information and tools that empower them to properly plan for the future and manage their credit health.”

Under federal law, every consumer can get free access to their credit reports once a year. You can access these reports by going to a single website – www.annualcreditreport.com. You can download the credit reports from Experian, Equifax and Trans Union all at once or one at a time throughout the year.

The reports will show what credit accounts are open in your name and whether these accounts are current. In addition to making you aware of your financial health, these reports will show if someone has stolen your identity and opened accounts in your name.

FICO credit scores aren't free

While access to your credit report is free, access to your credit score is not. The website CreditKarma.com advertises that it will provide a credit score at no charge, which is true. But the score is a proprietary one generated from data in your credit report. Your actual FICO score costs money.

Still, you can keep up with your FICO credit score by paying for it or by receiving a copy from your lender whenever you finance an automobile or home purchase. It's a number worth knowing.

“Your credit score is much more than just a number – it’s a key indicator of credit health that helps you assess where you stand and what’s within reach,” said personal finance expert and Chase Slate financial education partner Farnoosh Torabi. “Checking your score, and checking it regularly, is a simple step you can take now to introduce more positive financial habits into your life. The higher your score, the more likely you are to be deemed eligible for a loan or receive better terms and interest rates.”

For the record, credit scores run from 300 to 850, with the higher the number, the better your credit. A good credit score is generally considered to be 720 and higher. Once your score falls below 660, you are headed into poor to bad credit territory, significantly limiting what you can borrow and how much you'll pay for it.

Raising your credit score

Need to raise your credit score? Here's the best way to do it.

First, pay all your bills on time. If your cell phone provider reports your payment as delinquent, that's going to drag down your credit score.

Next, focus on paying down your credit card balances. The gap between your credit limit and the amount you owe should be as wide as possible. If you have an account with a $5,000 credit limit and a $4,400 balance, that doesn't look good.

Refrain from opening new credit accounts unless it is absolutely necessary. When checking out and the cashier asks if you'd like to open a store credit card to get $10 off your purchase, it's best to decline. Not worth it.

Some consumers with credit score issues they're unable to resolve themselves may benefit from legal representation. To learn more, visit our credit repair companies guide.

Finally, bite the bullet and pay down your debt instead of moving it to another credit card. There are times when moving a balance from a high interest credit card to one offering 0% interest might make sense, but it can also ding your credit score.

Though the Apple Watch, Apple's first new product line since the iPad, won't be available to the public until April 24, a handful of tech writers and reporters have spent the past week previewing the upcoming new devices, and those reviews all came out today.

The results are an odd mix: pretty much everyone agrees the Apple Watch is an amazing new piece of technology, yet even the most enthusiastic reviews found a lot to complain about. (My personal cover-all-bases prediction: the Apple Watch will prove either a dazzling success for Apple, a colossal failure, or something in between. You heard it here first!)

The Watch combines many features of a wearable miniature iPhone, iPod and iPad combination, with some new technological features as well. For example, the underside of each watch is outfitted with what Apple calls a “Taptic Engine,” which lets the watch literally tap you on the wrist anytime it wants your attention.

The Apple Watch review in Bloomberg BusinessWeek actually kicks off with a description of the Taptic Engine in action:

I’m in a meeting with 14 people, in mid-sentence, when I feel a tap-tap-tap on my wrist. I stop talking, tilt my head, and whip my arm aggressively into view to see the source of the agitation. A second later, the small screen on my new Apple Watch beams to life with a very important message for me: Twitter has suggestions for people I should follow. A version of this happens dozens of times throughout the day—for messages, e-mails, activity achievements, tweets, and so much more. Wait a second. Isn’t the promise of the Apple Watch to help me stay in the moment, focused on the people around me and undisturbed by the mesmerizing void of my iPhone? So why do I suddenly feel so distracted?

Fashion statement

The Wall Street Journal concluded that the Apple Watch was more of a fashion statement than an actual useful gadget:

After over a week of living with Apple’s latest gadget on my wrist, I realized the company isn’t just selling some wrist-worn computer, it’s selling good looks and coolness, with some bonus computer features. Too many features that are too hard to find, if you ask me.

Re/Code.net's reviewer felt the opposite — it's pretty nifty having these techno-gadgets strapped to your wrist, but not very fashionable:

I’ve liked having access to iMessages, email and photos on my wrist. I didn’t resent the reminders to get up and move around after I’ve been sitting for too long. I even got used to accepting or rejecting phone calls from my wrist. … Apple Watch strives for high fashion, but it still looks like a techie watch. Even if you can easily swap out the basic, smooth plastic band for a more elegant one — the $149 leather band, the $149 Milanese loop or the $449 link bracelet — the face looks kind of like a miniature iPhone.

On the other hand, Re/Code feels that if you must wear a smartwatch solely as a fashion statement, the Apple Watch is probably your least-worst option:

… the face looks kind of like a miniature iPhone. With that said, I’ve worn my fair share of smartwatches and none are as good-looking as Apple Watch....

Quite smart

The New York Times agreed with the Wall Street Journal on two main issues: both think the watch is good-looking – the Times said it “looks quite smart, with a selection of stylish leather and metallic bands that make for a sharp departure from most wearable devices” – and both think the device is plagued by typical first-gen technology issues.

Quoth the Times: “the Apple Watch works like a first-generation device, with all the limitations and flaws you’d expect of brand-new technology.”

And if you ask the Wall Street Journal writer if you should buy yourself a new Apple Watch, she'll tell you no:

[E]very time I gaze down to admire it, I start seeing how the next one will look better. You could say the same about many fashion objects, but watches should be timeless (ironically). Unlike the Cartier I got for college graduation, the original Apple Watch’s beauty will soon fade. Unless you opt for the cheapest $350 sport version, you should really wait for the future.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the U.K.'s Telegraph said pretty much the same thing, going on at length about the Watch's many neat and nifty features before concluding:

That’s not, however, to say that even Apple fans with £299 burning a hole in their pocket should rush out and buy this first generation Watch. It’s beautifully designed and frequently rather useful - but history suggests version two or three will be even better.

Even worse, at least according to the Times: unlike earlier Apple product lines, the Apple Watch could prove difficult for “tech novices” to use, at least at first:

unlike previous breakthrough Apple products, the Watch’s software requires a learning curve that may deter some people. There’s a good chance it will not work perfectly for most consumers right out of the box, because it is best after you fiddle with various software settings to personalize use. Indeed, to a degree unusual for a new Apple device, the Watch is not suited for tech novices. It is designed for people who are inundated with notifications coming in through their phones, and for those who care to think about, and want to try to manage, the way the digital world intrudes on their lives.

Of course, if you want to manage (or even limit) the way the digital world intrudes on your analog real life, altering notifications and other settings on those techno-gadgets you already have might be a better bet than buying a new techno-gadget, and is definitely less expensive.

The U.S. Surgeon General should declare that indoor ultraviolet radiation tanning causes skin cancer, according to an article published today by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

The article's author -- Robert P. Dellavalle, MD, PhD, MSPH, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine -- said there is enough evidence for the Surgeon General to clearly state that use of indoor tanning beds causes skin cancer.

Dellavalle and his co-authors use a common testing standard for causality, named after English epidemiologist Sir Austin Bradford Hill, to compare the case made in 1964 by the Surgeon General to link cigarette smoking to lung cancer to today's concerns about indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanning and skin cancer.

"As with tobacco and lung cancer, all Bradford Hill criteria except the experimental criteria are satisfied by the relationship between indoor UV tanning and skin cancer: tanning beds cause skin cancer," the authors write. "It is time now to announce this causality more openly."

Eight out of nine

The Bradford Hill criteria provide nine categories for evaluating the causal relationship between two factors. The authors report that for indoor UV tanning and skin cancer and for smoking and lung cancer, each fulfill eight of the nine criteria.

The remaining item, conducting "randomized controlled trials" on human subjects, cannot be tested because it would be unethical to expose humans to activities known to cause cancer, the authors write. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, UV tanning devices and tobacco smoke are classified as Group 1 carcinogens.

Based on the comparison with tobacco smoke and the health warning issued by the Surgeon General, the authors urge the Surgeon General to make a stronger statement than has been made so far regarding UV tanning devices.

A federal court jury has awarded a West Virginia man $3 million after finding that Ford was responsible for a defective accelerator assembly that caused a 2012 crash.

Howard Nease was seriously injured in November 2012 when his 2001 Ford Ranger failed to slow down as he took his foot off the accelerator while approaching slow-moving traffic on U.S. 60 in St. Albans, W.Va.

Nease went off the road to avoid hitting the cars. The truck jumped two curbs, hit the brick wall of a car wash and then slammed into a brick building adjacent to the car wash. Witnesses said the rear wheels continued spinning and the tires started to smoke after the truck slammed into the brick wall.

Nease was seriously injured and was hospitalized for nearly three months.

Nease's attorneys argued that the design of the accelerator assembly on the 2001 Ford Ranger was defective, which made the gas pedal prone to sticking. Ford argued that Nease, who is now 74, was old and confused and hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

Grime & grease

Attorney Tony O'Dell said Ford knew that their speed control cable in the accelerator assembly for the truck could become bound by dirt, grime or grease, or get frayed or pinched by other parts.

“Not only did they recognize this could happen, but in their engineering handbook it said that it had a 10 out of 10 hazard rating,” O’Dell said. “Their handbook said if you had a nine or a 10 — this is a 10 again — that you needed to redesign it.”

Ford argued at trial that Nease, who is now 74, was old and mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake. O’Dell said the jury didn’t buy that argument.

“The jury sent a strong message to Ford Motor Company that we’re going to pay attention to safety laws here in West Virginia,” he said.

Mortgage applications were up 0.4% in the week ending April 3, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey -- the third increase in as many weeks.

“Purchase mortgage application volume last week increased to its highest level since July 2013, spurred on by still low mortgage rates and strengthening housing markets,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economist. “Purchase volume has increased for three straight weeks now on a seasonally adjusted basis.”

The Refinance Index, on the other hand, fell 3% from the previous week, pushing the the refinance share of mortgage activity down 3% to 57 percent of total applications -- its lowest level since October 2014. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity was 5.5% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications rose to 13.2% from 12.8%, the VA share of total applications increased from 10.5% to 10.7%, and the USDA share was unchanged at 0.8% from the week prior.

Contract interest rates

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) was down 3 basis points -- to 3.86% from 3.89%, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.36 (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 3.90% to 3.81% -- its lowest level since May 2013, with points decreasing to 0.26 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80%t LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs backed by the FHA dropped 4 basis points to 3.69%, with points rising to 0.18 from 0.13 (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 3.15% from 3.21%, with points unchanged from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs plunged 17 basis points to 2.76%, its lowest level since May 2013, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

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

The number of job openings in the U.S. inched higher during February, moving from 5.0 million to 5.1 million -- the highest level since January 2001.

Figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show the number of job openings was little changed for total private and government, while no industries posted significant changes from January. Openings increased in the Midwest region.

Hires and separations

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also says hires (4.9 million) and separations (4.7 million) were little changed. Within separations, the quits rate was 1.9%, while the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1% -- both rates showing little difference from January .

With the hires rate at 3.5%, the number of hires was little changed for total private and government in February, and there was little to no change in the number of hires in all industries over the month. In the regions, the number of hires rose in the Northeast and fell in the South. Over the 12 months ending in February, the number of hires was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The number of hires was little changed in all industries and increased in the Northeast.

There were 4.7 million total separations in February, about the same as in January, for a rate of 3.3%. The number of total separations was little changed in total private and government and in all four regions.

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations, and is referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs.

Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.

The complete report is available on the Labor Department website.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 1,549 model year 2013-2015 Lincoln MKT vehicles with a limousine and hearse prep package, manufactured March 6, 2012, to March 10, 2015.

The vacuum pump relay may overheat due to an internal fault or contamination, increasing the risk of a vehicle fire.

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the vacuum pump relay with a new electro-mechanical relay, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 11, 2015.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S10.

General Motors is recalling 19,831 model year 2015 Buick Encores manufactured August 26, 2014, to February 9, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Trax vehicles manufactured October 13, 2014, to February 3, 2015.

The vehicles have tire placards that do not provide the rim size information for the front or rear wheels.

If the label is missing front and rear rim size information, the owner may replace the rims with ones that are an incorrect size, increasing the risk of crash.

GM will notify owners, and will send owners a corrected label, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15166.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 194,484 model year 2011-2013 Explorers.

The interior door handle return spring may unseat, resulting in interior door handle that does not return to the fully stowed position after actuation. This could result in the door unlatching in the event of a side impact crash, increasing the risk of personal injury.

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all 4 of the interior door handles and either repair or replace them, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on May 11, 2015.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S11.

Blue Bell Creameries is expanding its recall of products that were produced in the Broken Arrow, Okla., plant to include Banana Pudding Ice Cream pints and additional products manufactured on the same line from February 12, 2015 – March 27, 2015.

The products, with a code date ending in either S or T, are contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been confirmed to date.

The recalled products were distributed to retail outlets -- including food service accounts, convenience stores and supermarkets -- in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.

The following recalled products are identified by the code date on the bottom of the carton:

Customers who purchased these items should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may call 979-836-7977, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST.

In 2013, when actress Angelina Jolie revealed she underwent a double mastectomy because of a genetic risk of breast cancer, it heightened awareness that the mutation of the BRCA1 gene could lead to the deadly disease.

Suddenly, women the world over were getting tested for the mutation and many, like Jolie, opted for the preventive surgery.

Now, researchers led by doctors at the Mayo Clinic may have made it easier for women to assess any genetic anomalies they might have that could result in getting breast cancer. The scientists have found dozens of common genetic variants that are associated with the disease.

Common genetic variants

The researchers combined 77 of these common genetic variants into a single risk factor that can help identify women with an increased risk of breast cancer. This factor is known as a polygenic risk score and was compiled from the genetic data of more than 67,000 women.

“This genetic risk factor adds valuable information to what we already know can affect a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer,” said Celine Vachon, an epidemiologist at Mayo Clinic and the study’s co-author.

Based on the results, the researchers are now developing a test. Once it’s ready for clinical use, Vachon says it will allow improved personalized screening and prevention strategies for patients.

Scientists have known for decades that genetics can play a role in breast cancer. Like Jolie, women inheriting a mutation in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are at a significantly increased risk of developing the disease.

Jolie’s genetic mutation is rare

Jolie’s mother died from breast cancer and so did her aunt, at about the same time the actress announced her mastectomy.

Though Jolie’s public announcement prompted many women to seek genetic testing, the chances of most having the dangerous mutation were quite small. The Mayo scientists say the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are rare and account for less than 5% of all breast cancers.

More common genetic variations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, also contribute to cancer risk, but taken individually, they are too small to predict breast cancer risk.

The purpose of the Mayo Clinic-led research was to test whether the effects of these individual SNPs could be combined into a single risk factor for breast cancer, that could then be used as a screening tool. It appears that they can.

Polygenic risk score

The research team used the results of their study to compile a polygenic risk score that they say could successfully place women into different categories of risk. For example, compared to women with an average polygenic risk score, women in the top 1% are 3 times more likely to develop breast cancer.

At the same time, women in the bottom 1% of the polygenic score are at a 70% lower risk of developing breast cancer. The researchers believe the score can become a powerful tool, when used along with relevant information like family history, lifestyle risk factors, previous biopsies, and breast density.

“There have been a lot of common genetic variants associated with cancers, not just for breast cancer but also for ovarian cancer and prostate cancer, but so far we haven’t seen these being used in clinical practice,” Vachon said. “In the future, these factors are going to be helpful in defining who is at highest and lowest risk of cancer and help both patients and clinicians make better decisions about their care.”

Consumer groups are calling for a federal investigation of Google, saying its new YouTube Kids app preys upon children's vulnerability and violates longstanding media practices intended to safeguard children.

“There is nothing 'child friendly' about an app that obliterates long-standing principles designed to protect kids from commercialism,” said Josh Golin, Associate Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, one of the groups filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

“YouTube Kids exploits children’s developmental vulnerabilities by delivering a steady stream of advertising that masquerades as programming," Golin said. "Furthermore, YouTube Kids' advertising policy is incredibly deceptive. To cite just one example, Google claims it doesn't accept food and beverage ads but McDonald's actually has its own channel and the 'content' includes actual Happy Meal commercials.”

Among the specific practices identified in the complaint are:

• Intermixing advertising and programming in ways that deceive young children, who, unlike adults, lack the cognitive ability to distinguish between the two;
• Featuring numerous “branded channels” for McDonald’s, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and other companies, which are little more than program-length commercials;
• Distributing so-called “user-generated” segments that feature toys, candy, and other products without disclosing the business relationships that many of the producers of these videos have with the manufacturers of the products, a likely violation of the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines.

When it launched the YouTube Kids app in February, Google described it as “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.”

Safeguards scrapped

But the complaint says Google appears to have ignored not only the scientific research on children’s developmental limitations, but also the well-established system of advertising safeguards that has been in place on both broadcast and cable television for decades.

Those safeguards include

• a prohibition against the host of a children’s program from delivering commercial messages;
• strict time limits on the amount of advertising any children’s program can include;
• the prohibition of program-length commercials; and
• the banning of “product placements” or “embedded advertisements.”

Such “blending of children’s programming content with advertising material on television,” the group’s complaint declares, “has long been prohibited because it is unfair and deceptive to children. The fact that children are viewing the videos on a tablet or smart phone screen instead of on a television screen does not make it any less unfair and deceptive.” 

"Hyper-commercialized"

“YouTube Kids is the most hyper-commercialized media environment for children I have ever seen,” commented Dale Kunkel, Professor of Communication, University of Arizona. “Many of these advertising tactics are considered illegal on television, and it's sad to see Google trying to get away with using them in digital media.”

Angela J. Campbell of the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law, who serves as counsel to the coalition, called on the FTC to "investigate whether Disney and other marketers are providing secret financial incentives for the creation of videos showing off their products. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides require disclosure of any such relationships so that consumers will not be misled." 

Organizations signing the complaint include: the Center for Digital Democracy, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Children Now, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, and Public Citizen.

Washington state is suing a company that promises to "adjust" student debt. Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit Monday charging StudentLoanProcessing.US (SLP) and its president James Krause with violating Washington’s Debt Adjusting Act and Consumer Protection Act, including charging illegal fees for debt adjusting and failing to inform customers of important rights as is legally required.

The same services SLP offers are available — for free — through the U.S. Dept. of Education (DOE), Ferguson said.

“My office will aggressively crack down on those who prey on student loan borrowers — many of whom are already overburdened — for profit,” Ferguson said. “This firm charged exorbitant and illegal fees for services that student loan borrowers can obtain for free.”

Many student loan debt adjustment firms have sprung up as a result of the $1.2 trillion debt burden carried by nearly 40 million American borrowers. Most offer to help students fill out and submit paperwork to DOE to consolidate their federal student loans.

Since July 2011, SLP has marketed and advertised for-cost services to assist student loan borrowers applying for DOE federal student loan repayment programs, including the Income-Based Repayment Program, and Direct Consolidation Loans.

$250 upfront

SLP charged each consumer an upfront enrollment fee of $250, or one percent of their outstanding loan balance, whichever was greater. A vast majority of consumers paid more than the $250 enrollment fee, even as high as $2,000. Washington’s Debt Adjustment Act places a strict limit of $25 on initial fees, meaning even SLP’s minimum fee was ten times the legal limit, the Attorney General’s Office alleges.

The Debt Adjustment Act also dictates that a debt adjuster’s fee may not exceed 15 percent of each payment, which SLP’s monthly fee of $39 did for most Washington consumers.

Ferguson also alleges SLP failed to include language in its contracts informing consumers of their three-day “right to cancel” period, a further violation of the Debt Adjustment Act. 

A total of 88 Washington consumers, with an average student loan debt of approximately $58,000, used SLP’s services. SLP has received roughly $132,000 in fees from these consumers.

What to do

For most federal borrowers, the consolidation process is fairly straightforward:  The borrower fills out a two-page application, verifies his or her employment and income, and submits the package to the DOE.  This service is done through the U.S. Department of Education for free and typically takes four to six weeks. 

The comeback in home prices continues.

The CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) shows home prices nationwide -- including distressed sales -- rose 5.6% in February from the same period a year ago, marking 3 years of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally.

On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide -- distressed sales included -- were up 1.1%.

Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

Closing in on the peak

Including distressed sales, 26 states and the District of Columbia were at or within 10% of their peak prices. Six states -- including Colorado (+9.8%), New York (+8.2%), North Dakota (+7.7%), Texas (+8.5%), Wyoming (+8.4%) and Oklahoma (+5.2%) -- reached new home price highs since January 1976 when the CoreLogic HPI started.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices jumped 5.8% from February 2014 to February 2015 and 1.5% month-over-month from this past January. Also excluding distressed sales, all states and the District of Columbia showed year-over-year home price appreciation in February.

“Since the second half of 2014, the dwindling supply of affordable inventory has led to stabilization in home price growth with a particular uptick in low-end home price growth over the last few months,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “From February 2014 to February 2015, low-end home prices increased by 9.3% compared to 4.8% for high-end home prices, a gap that is 3 times the average historical difference.”

February highlights

• Including distressed sales, the 5 states with the highest home price appreciation were: Colorado (+9.8%), South Carolina (+9.3%), Michigan (+8.5%), Texas (+8.5%) and Wyoming (+8.4%).
• Excluding distressed sales, the 5 states with the highest home price appreciation were: South Carolina (+9.7%), New York (+9.2%), Colorado (+9%), Texas (+7.9%) and Florida (+7.8%).
• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to February 2015) was -12.2%. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change for the same period was -7.8%.
• Including distressed sales, only Connecticut at -0.9% experienced a decline in home prices.
• The 5 states with the largest peak-to-current declines -- including distressed transactions -- were: Nevada (-35.4%), Florida (-32.4%), Rhode Island (-29.6%), Arizona (-28.4%) and Connecticut (-24.7%).
• Including distressed sales, the U.S. has experienced 36 consecutive months of year-over-year increases.
• Ninety-two of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population showed year-over-year increases in January 2015. The 8 CBSAs that showed year-over-year declines were: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.; New Orleans-Metairie, La.; Rochester, N.Y.; Worcester, Mass.-Conn..; Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.; and New Haven-Milford, Conn.

“This is the hottest home price appreciation prior to the spring selling season in nine years,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Assuming a benign interest rate environment and continued strong consumer confidence, we expect home prices to rise by an additional five percent over the next 12 months.”

The outlook

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates home prices -- including distressed sales -- are will increase by 0.6 percent% over-month from February to March. and on a year-over-year basis by 5.1% from February 2015 to February 2016.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices are expected to increase by 0.5% month over month from February to March and by 4.8% year over year.  

You know you should be putting money away for retirement but there are bills to pay. Incomes have been stagnant since the financial crisis but costs have continued to climb.

Gasoline prices may seem relatively low now but between 2011 and 2014 the average U.S. price at the pump fluctuated between $3.50 and $4.00 a gallon. Rents have been steadily climbing since 2009.

Significant disconnect

So it's little wonder that a new study by financial service firm Edward Jones uncovered a rather significant disconnect between what people say they plan to save for retirement and what they actually save.

Young consumers in the survey between ages 18 and 34 said they know they need to save. Ninety percent said they plan to start a retirement next egg before they turn 30.

But then the survey takers talked to the next age group, those 35 to 44, they discovered that only 64% had actually begun saving in the 30s or before.

"When it comes to retirement savings, there's a big difference between planning to save and actually doing so," said Scott Thoma, principal and investment Strategist for Edward Jones. "While intentions to save for retirement are legitimate, individuals tend to satisfy more immediate, short-term spending goals and push off their long-term saving goals.”

Scary data

For policymakers, this should be scary data. It suggests more Americans will be more dependent – not less – on Social Security in old age. For individual investors, Thoma says their 30s and 40s are the time when investing a little money has a good chance to grow into a lot by retirement time.

The youngest Americans are not alone in not living up to their savings intentions. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they planned to start socking money away between the ages of 40 and 50. However, when examining their plans versus reality amongst respondents ages 35 to 44, just 3% had actually started saving. The results were better for those 45 to 54 – 30% had actually started saving.

Kids make a difference

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the presence of children and larger household size in general has a dampening effect on actual retirement savings. The survey found that singles are much more likely – 61% – to have begun saving for retirement. In households with 3 or more people, that rate falls to 49%.

In families with children or aging parents, other financial needs often compete for a wage-earner's resources.

"Parents are recognizing the need to save earlier in order to account for additional costs, like education," said Thoma.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that fewer than half of Americans even know how much money they will need for retirement. It found that in 2012, 30% of private sector employees with access to a retirement savings plan did not participate.

Activity in the services, or non-manufacturing, sector of the economy slipped in March.

According to the Institute for Supply Management the Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI) registered 56.5% last month -- down 0.4% from the February reading of 56.9%, representing continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector.

The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index fell 1.9% to 57.5%, reflecting growth for the 68th consecutive month at a slower rate.

The New Orders Index was up 1.1% -- to 57.8%, the Employment Index inched ahead 0.2%, indicating growth for the 13th consecutive month, and the Prices Index was up 2.7%, the first increase in 4 months.

Industry performance

The 14 non-manufacturing industries reporting growth in March -- listed in order -- are:

• Management of Companies & Support Services;
• Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Accommodation & Food Services;
• Transportation & Warehousing;
• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting;
• Arts, Entertainment & Recreation;
• Retail Trade;
• Finance & Insurance;
• Public Administration;
• Information;
• Wholesale Trade;
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services;
• Health Care & Social Assistance; and
• Construction.

The four industries reporting contraction in March are:

• Mining;
• Educational Services;
• Other Services; and
• Utilities.

With the federal income tax-filing deadline just more than a week off, you want to be sure you do whatever you can from to keep being tardy.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is offering the following tips:

• File electronically. Filing electronically, whether through e-file or IRS Free File, vastly reduces tax return errors, as the tax software does the calculations, flags common errors and prompts taxpayers for missing information. And best of all, there is a free option for everyone.
• Mail a paper return to the right address. Paper filers should check IRS.gov or their form instructions for the appropriate address where to file to avoid processing delays.
• Take a close look at the tax tables. When figuring tax using the tax tables, taxpayers should be sure to use the correct column for the filing status claimed.
• Fill in all requested information clearly. When entering information on the tax return, including Social Security numbers, take the time to be sure it is correct and easy to read. Also, check only one filing status and the appropriate exemption boxes.
• Review all figures. While software catches and prevents many errors on e-file returns, math errors remain common on paper returns.
• Get the right routing and account numbers. Requesting direct deposit of a federal refund into one, two or even three accounts is convenient and allows the taxpayer access to his or her money faster. Make sure the financial institution routing and account numbers entered on the return are accurate. Incorrect numbers can cause a refund to be delayed or deposited into the wrong account.
• Sign and date the return. If filing a joint return, both spouses must sign and date the return. E-filers can sign using a self-selected personal identification number (PIN).
• Attach all required forms. Paper filers need to attach W-2s and other forms that reflect tax withholding, to the front of their returns. If requesting a payment agreement with the IRS, also attach Form 9465 to the front of the return. Attach all other necessary schedules and forms in the sequence number order shown in the upper right-hand corner.
• Keep a copy of the return. Once ready to be filed, taxpayers should make a copy of their signed return and all schedules for their records.
• Request a Filing Extension. For taxpayers who cannot meet the April 15 deadline, requesting a filing extension is easy and will prevent late filing penalties. Either use Free File or Form 4868. But keep in mind that while an extension grants additional time to file, tax payments are still due April 15.
• Owe tax? If so, a number of e-payment options are available. Or send a check or money order payable to the “United States Treasury.”