Current Events in August 2015

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    Privacy groups offer “Do Not Track” compromise; will online advertisers and publishers accept it?

    Tracking and data-mining might prove too profitable for publishers to willingly abandon

    To be tracked, or not to be tracked? That is the question which privacy and advertising groups have debated since the Internet went public.

    This week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), along with the privacy company Disconnect and a “coalition of Internet companies” proposed a new Do Not Track, or DNT, standard for web browsing.

    The EFF's press release said that this new standard, “coupled with privacy software, will better protect users from sites that try to secretly follow and record their Internet activity, and incentivize advertisers and data collection companies to respect a user’s choice not to be tracked online.”

    Companies against DNT options

    As its name suggests, the Do Not Track project seeks to give users the option to go online without having every website they visit monitored and recorded, or “tracked.” Though popular with everyday Internet users – the potential trackees – Do Not Track efforts tend to generate less enthusiasm among potential trackers.

    Indeed, most companies go out of their way to avoid offering Do Not Track options at all. In April 2014, for example, Yahoo updated its privacy policy to say that henceforth, “web browser Do Not Track settings will no longer be enabled on Yahoo.” Google Chrome's “Do Not Track” help page, last updated in October 2012, says that “At this time, most web services, including Google's, do not alter their behavior or change their services upon receiving Do Not Track requests.”

    In June 2014 the Digital Advertising Alliance, an advertisers' trade organization, went so far as to urge Internet standards organizations to abandon do-not-track efforts altogether, and especially criticized companies such as Microsoft, which automatically turned on do-not-track signals for certain Internet Explorer users, on the grounds that default DNT settings might not accurately reflect users' desires to be tracked.

    Full stop

    As industry consultant Alan Chapell said: “There’s no mechanism for anyone in the digital media ecosystem to trust any DNT signal they receive. As a result, the entire framework is open to question. In any other group, this issue would result in a full stop until the questions are addressed.”

    So, Reader: if you're worried that Microsoft or some other nefarious entity is secretly not-tracking you when you'd prefer it monitor and record your every online activity, you can take courage from knowing organizations such as the Digital Advertising Alliance have your back.

    If, on the other hand, you'd rather not be tracked, you're arguably better represented by pro-Do Not Track groups such as the EFF. And yet, even privacy advocates admit that the current Do Not Track status quo does cause some legitimate problems for advertisers (which is exactly why the EFF is proposing a new tracking standard).

    Advertising legitimacy 

    Advertising is not inherently bad. Indeed, where free-to-the-consumer media is concerned, advertising is downright necessary: if a website, television channel, or other media provider lets viewers see its content for free, it needs advertising to pay for producing and distributing that content and for paying the taxes that not-for-profit advocacy groups don't pay. 

    That's how TV networks operated, in the days before cable and other forms of pay television: viewers paid nothing to watch a program, but advertisers paid to air commercials during the program breaks.

    Of course, the advertisers who made old-school TV commercials didn't know exactly who would see their ads, though they could make some educated guesses based on programming content: if someone's watching a televised NASCAR race, it's better-than-average odds that person has an interest in fast cars and car-related accessories, especially compared to the typical viewer of, say, “My Little Pony.”

    But such broad interest generalizations pale in comparison to the hyper-specific data collection possible over the Internet. Instead of content-specific ads as seen on TV commercials, the Internet can allow for viewer-specific ads – especially if said viewer's online activities can be fully tracked.

    Except that many Internet users object to such tracking for obvious privacy reasons. So to protect themselves, users will install ad blocking software (such as that offered by Disconnect) which can save users' privacy – at the cost of making it harder if not impossible for ad-dependent websites to make any money.

    Personal data is golden

    Couldn't Internet advertisers simply use content-specific ads, as TV and radio advertisers do? Sure, but they wouldn't be nearly as effective. As the Wall Street Journal noted in its report on the EFF's latest Do Not Track proposal:

    Personal data is the currency of the Internet. Advertisers, especially, use it to target specific people for a particular ad based on search terms they have entered, sites they have visited, and so on—an industry worth roughly $50 billion last year.

    Publishers can charge between three and seven times more for targeted ads than those placed on Web pages blindly, according to a study funded by the Digital Advertising Alliance. The Do Not Track effort has foundered because many online businesses were unwilling or unable to find another way to make money.

    The Digital Advertising Alliance, you might recall, is the same group which last year urged wholesale abandonment of any Do Not Track efforts — and that study, suggesting that targeted ads generate three to seven times more money than non-targeted ads, explains why.

    New proposal

    Sadly for the Digital Advertising Alliance and similar groups, many Internet users who couldn't opt out of tracking responded with ad-blocking software. Thus, instead of making three to seven times as much ad money off of various viewers, publishers end up making no money at all.

    So the EFF, Disconnect, and other privacy-supporting groups are offering what the Wall Street Journal calls a “Do Not Track compromise” [and the EFF dubbed it a “privacy-friendly Do Not Track policy”] allowing Internet users to avoid tracking while still making it possible for web publishers to collect ad revenue.

    Here's how it would work: publishers and web companies would agree not to track users who signed on for Do Not Track. Or, “compliant entities should not collect unique identifiers such as cookies, fingerprints, or supercookies from DNT users, unless … the user has given her informed consent,” as EFF said.

    Also, publishers would not retain individual visitors' browser and IP address information longer than 10 days, unless they are legally required to do otherwise.

    In exchange, the publishers and websites would get to display what the Journal called “the EFF's 'seal of approval'” on their sites, privacy-policy language assuring users the site would not track them. Users with ad-blocking software would then get the option to disable the ad-blockers on that particular EFF-approved website, so that the viewer will potentially see ads (read: generate ad revenue for the website) without having to be tracked in the process. So far the proposal has no real enforcement mechanism, but would largely operate on the honor system.

    Disconnect's CEO, Casey Oppenheim, said in support of the proposal that “The failure of the ad industry and privacy groups to reach a compromise on DNT has led to a viral surge in ad blocking, massive losses for Internet companies dependent on ad revenue, and increasingly malicious methods of tracking users and surfacing advertisements online. Our hope is that this new DNT approach will protect a consumer’s right to privacy and incentivize advertisers to respect user choice, paving a path that allows privacy and advertising to coexist.”

    To be tracked, or not to be tracked? That is the question which privacy and advertising groups have debated since the Internet went public.This week, t...

    Surprise! Millennials driving the housing market

    "Renting generation" turns conventional wisdom about housing market upside down

    It's funny how quickly conventional wisdom about Millennials and the real estate market can change. In the wake of the Recession, it seemed no one under 30 was buying houses.

    As recently as June a research report from UBS Financial Services called Millennials “the renting generation,” predicting homeownership trends among this population would continue to fall.

    But the recent increase in first-time buyers entering the housing market is largely made up of Millennials, seeking the stability of mortgage payments that rise very little, if at all, year to year. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), says Millennials are buying houses for many of the same reasons their parents did.

    “Fixed monthly payments and the long-term financial stability homeownership can provide are attractive to young adults despite witnessing the housing downturn,” Yun said.

    Generational headwinds

    After compiling NAR's Home Buyer and Seller Generational Report, Yun said the share of Millennial purchases would likely be higher if not for four negative factors that are providing generational headwinds: underemployment, subpar wage growth, rising rents, and student debt. He notes that all four make it difficult to save for a down payment.

    “For some, even forming households of their own has been a challenge,” Yun said.

    Student debt is an often-overlooked factor. A new Bankrate Money Pulse Survey reveals 45% of people with student loans, and 56% of those between 18 and 29, have put off a major life event like buying a house because of the burden of that debt.

    But Millennials may be making up for lost time. The NAR report makes clear that in recent months, it has been Millennials driving the housing market. That generation has made up 32% of home buyers, significantly more than Baby Boomers.

    68% of first-time buyers

    Millennials have also made up 68% of first-time buyers and are more likely than their older peers to have looked for a house online first.

    The younger generation is also shaping the kinds of new housing developments that are being built, and where they are being built. NAR research has found that Millennials prefer to live in “walkable” neighborhoods, close to shopping and restaurants.

    Because of that preference, they are less interested in suburban single-family homes and are more interested in urban condos and townhouses.

    The research also shows that Millennials show a stronger preference than other generations for expanding public transportation and providing transportation alternatives to driving, such as biking and walking, while also increasing the availability of trains and buses. They also support the development of communities where people do not need to drive long distances to work or shop.

    The emphasis on walkabout neighborhoods is likely evidence of Millennials' growing influence in the housing market. The survey found that Americans prefer walkable communities more so than they have in the past.

    It's funny how quickly conventional wisdom about Millennials and the real estate market can change. In the wake of the Recession, it seemed no one under 30...

    Study finds dementia now starts much earlier

    Researchers place much of the blame on "modern life"

    Doctors in the UK treating cognitive decline recently made a startling discovery: their patients are getting younger.

    Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia usually show up when people are in their 60s, but doctors providing information for the Young Dementia UK charity say they have begun to treat patients in their 40s and 50s.

    Researchers at Bournemouth University believe “modern life” may be mostly to blame. They studied adults in 21 Western countries and found that the problem was most severe in the U.S. They believe that environmental problems like pollution and pesticides could be at fault.

    Deaths on the rise

    At the same time, deaths resulting from neurological disease are up significantly in adults aged 55-74. For adults 75 and older, the rate has almost doubled in every Western country in just the last 20 years.

    In the U.S., neurological disease deaths in men over 75 have nearly tripled and have increased even more in women. For the first time since records began, more elderly American women died of brain disease than cancer.

    “The rate of increase in such a short time suggests a silent or even a hidden epidemic, in which environmental factors must play a major part, not just aging," said Colin Pritchard, a professor at Bournemouth University, who led the study. “Modern living produces multi-interactional environmental pollution but the changes in human morbidity, including neurological disease is remarkable and points to environmental influences.”

    Hidden epidemic

    As a result of the “hidden epidemic,” Prichard says health services are being swamped. He also says neurological diseases are becoming more common on a relative basis because many physical diseases are becoming less common. He does not that there is one big difference, though.

    “Crucially it is not just because people are living longer to get diseases they previously would not have lived long enough to develop but older people are developing neurological disease more than ever before,” he said.

    Why? Because the world is a very different place, he says.

    “The environmental changes in the last 20 years have seen increases in the human environment of petro-chemicals – air transport- quadrupling of motor vehicles, insecticides and rises in background electro-magnetic-field, and so on,” Pritchard said.

    Doctors in the UK treating cognitive decline recently made a startling discovery: their patients are getting younger. Alzheimer's disease and other type...

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      Small businesses not yet ready for new secure card payment system

      Wells Fargo survey finds just 31% have installed new EMV chip card readers

      October 1 is an important date for businesses that accept credit cards. That's when a new rule takes effect, shifting the liability for fraudulent credit card purchases from the banks to the business making the sale, if it has not installed EMV chip card technology.

      Unfortunately, a survey by Wells Fargo shows small businesses, by and large, are not only unprepared – they aren't aware of what's coming.

      In its quarterly Small Business Index Survey, just 49% of small business owners who accept point-of-sale card payments today report being aware of the impending liability shift, when a card issuer or merchant that does not support EMV chip card technology will assume liability for any fraudulent point-of-sale card transactions.

      Financial institutions have been sending their customers new EMV chip-enabled credit and debit cards. These cards are designed to protect against fraudulent transactions by encoding cardholder information within an encrypted microchip and data that changes with each transaction.

      For the cards to work, merchants must convert to new card readers or add EMV capability to their existing magnetic stripe card reader payment terminals. That costs money.

      Only 31% compliance

      With only three months remaining before the deadline, Wells Fargo and Gallup, which conducted the survey, found that only 31% of small business owners said that their existing credit card processing system accepts chip-enabled cards.

      When asked if they plan to upgrade their point-of-sale credit card terminals to accept EMV chip cards, just 29% said they would before the Oct. 1 deadline. Another 34% said they will at some point in the future after October. Twenty-one percent said they never plan to upgrade.

      "While our industry has made great progress in the last year informing and preparing small business owners for the EMV liability shift, the survey findings show us that we have more work to do," said Debra Rossi, head of Wells Fargo Merchant Services.

      The bank said it is trying to build awareness, prepare small businesses for the EMV liability shift, and encourage business owners to adopt EMV chip-card technology. It has been providing EMV-capable equipment to customers since 2012.

      It said all new and re-issued Wells Fargo Business Credit Cards and Business Elite Cards provided to customers are chip-enabled.

      Card issuers take the lead

      In fact, card issuers have been well ahead of businesses in adopting the EMV technology. Visa and Mastercard announced last year that they had formed a “new cross-industry group focused on enhancing payment system security” to spearhead adoption of the new technology, which has been in use in Europe for years.

      Despite the split between businesses that intend to upgrade their payment terminals to accept EMV chip cards and those that don’t, small business owners seem to agree on one thing: when consumers buy something, they told the Wells Fargo survey takers, they prefer customers pay with cash or a check.

      October 1 is an important date for businesses that accept credit cards. That's when a new rule takes effect, shifting the liability for fraudulent credit c...

      Senate report addresses airline fee transparency

      Passengers being "nickel-and-dimed to death," report makes recommendations

      Trying to pin down an airline fare is tougher than ever. Between fuel surcharges, checked bag charges, "enhanced" seat charges, change and cancellation penalties and pay-as-you-go drinks and snacks, who knows what a flight will really cost?

      Congress has been hearing about this from the folks back home and a new report released today by the minority staff of the Senate Commerce Committee finds that ancillary fees are increasingly keeping consumers in the dark about the true cost of air travel.    

      “The traveling public is being nickel-and-dimed to death,” said Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the panel’s top Democrat.  “What’s worse is that many flyers don’t learn about the actual cost of their travel until it’s too late.” 

      The report made a number of recommendations to create more transparency in pricing and Nelson said he intends to press his colleagues to act on the report’s recommendations when the Senate begins its work on legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration. 

      Preferred seats

      In the case of preferred seating charges, the report found that consumers who purchase tickets through airline websites are sometimes only presented seats which require an additional fee.  In such instances, many travelers often pay the fee, unaware that the airlines will randomly assign them an available free seat at a later date. 

      Additionally, the review found that consumers generally did not receive prominent or clear flight change and cancellation fee disclosures when they purchased tickets from airline websites.  In some instances, penalties for changing flight plans can double the cost of travel – even when the change is made far in advance of the flight.

      Among the report’s recommendations:

      • Better and earlier disclosure of ancillary fees to help consumers compare costs among airlines;
      • Require checked baggage and carry-on baggage fees to have a clear connection between the costs incurred by the airline and the baggage fees charged;
      • Require airlines to promptly refund fees for any bags that are delayed more than 6 hours on a domestic flight;
      • Limit airline change fees to a reasonable amount tied to lead time prior to departure and an amount less than the original fare;
      • Mandate that airlines place clear disclosures that “preferred seat” charges are optional;
      • Require airline and travel agency websites to have a clear and conspicuous links to the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection website; and,
      • Update the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection website to better assist the flying public.

      The report comes at a time of growing traveler frustration over airline fees.   According to one recent study, airlines around the world pocketed a record $38.1 billion in extra fees last year – an increase of more than 1400% since 2007.

      Trying to pin down an airline fare is tougher than ever. Between fuel surcharges, checked bag charges, "enhanced" seat charges, change and cancellation pen...

      Senate bill would raise gas tax 4 cents per year for 4 years

      The measure would extend some tax credits to make up for the higher gas tax

      He doesn't have many supporters for the measure, either in Congress or out, but Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is pushing for four years of four-cent gas tax hikes to fix the nation's highway funding shortfall.

      The Highway Trust Fund is running short of money in part because the current generation of fuel-efficient cars aren't burning as much gas as their predecessors -- meaning that while inflation keeps pushing up the cost of highway construction and maintenance, gas tax revenues stay flat or even decline.

      "Rather than lurching from crisis to crisis, increasing country's debt, and borrowing more money from foreign governments to pay for our transportation system, I say it’s time to do what’s right," Carper said. "At a time when gas prices are some of the lowest we've seen in recent memory, we should be willing to make the hard choice to raise the federal gas tax."

      To balance the 16-cent cost of a gas tax hike, Carper suggests making permanent certain expiring tax cuts that he says would "directly benefit hard-working Americans."

      The legislation would also extend and expand the earned income (EITC) and child (CTC) tax credits. It would make both credits permanent, as well as expand the EITC for childless workers, index the CTC to inflation, and make it easier for working Americans who qualify to claim the EITC, Carper said.

      Carper's bill, the Traffic Relief Act, isn't given much chance of passage in a GOP-controlled Congress that generally opposes any tax increase.

      What about hybrids?

      Any mention of the gas tax always brings up the issue of hybrids and all-electric cars, which use less or, in the case of all-electric cars, no gas and thus pay less or no gas tax.

      On the one hand, fairness seems to dictate that those cars should pay some alternative fee for using the nation's highways. On the other, environmentalists say the cars' other benefits should earn them a free ride.

      There aren't really enough zero-emission cars out there to make much of a difference financially but conservatives have a hard time accepting the notion that greenies should thumb their noses at the gas tax while pick-up truck drivers pay through the nose.

      Until recently, Virginia had a special yearly tax for electric cars but it was withdrawn when Democrats took over several statewide offices in the most recent election.

      He doesn't have many supporters for the measure, either in Congress or out, but Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is pushing for four years of four-cent gas tax hik...

      Hackers hit Tesla, bring the targeted car to an abrupt halt

      A Jeep was hacked a few weeks ago as hackers take aim at rolling computers

      A generation or two ago, young guys liked to mess around with cars, trying to make them faster, louder and generally more disreputable. Then computers came along and all the shade-tree mechanics became hackers.

      Now things have come full circle. Cars have become rolling computers, making them objects of desire for hackers, who are having a picnic finding ways to hack into cars' operating systems.

      Just a few weeks ago, Fiat Chrysler (FCA USA LLC) conceded that its Uconnect system was vulnerable after researchers took control of a Jeep and shut it down.

      Now cybersecurity researchers say they took control of a Tesla Model S and turned it off at low speed, using one of six security flaws they found in the car, the Financial Times reported.

      Only a test?

      You'll recall this is how the whole hacking phenomenon began -- well-intentioned hacks intended to demonstrate vulnerability, quickly followed by wholesale criminal hacking of just about everything.

      "We shut the car down when it was driving initially at a low speed of five miles per hour," Marc Rogers of Cloudflare, a cybersecurity firm, told the newspaper. "All the screens go black, the music turns off and the handbrake comes on, lurching it to a stop."

      Rogers was joined in his efforts by Kevin Mahaffey of Lookout. The two said they chose Tesla because of the company's reputation for high-end software.

      Tesla said it is issuing a patch, which will be sent to all drivers today. The Chrysler hack also resulted in a "virtual recall," in which patches were downloaded to 1.4 million Jeep Grand Cherokees.

      A generation or two ago, young guys liked to mess around with cars, trying to make them faster, louder and generally more disreputable. Then computers came...

      U.S. workforce takes heaviest hit since 2011

      Employers cut more than 105,000 last month

      Employers cut jobs in July at a clip not seen in nearly four years.

      Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas says 105,696 workers were dropped from their companies' payrolls last month, topping 100,000 for the first time since September 2011.

      The July tally is 136% greater than the 44,842 job cuts recorded in June, and 125% higher than the same month a year ago.

      So far this year, 393,368 jobs have been lost - 34% more than during the first 7 months of 2014. It's the highest 7-month total since 2009, when 978,048 job cuts were announced amid the worst recession since the Great Depression.

      Military cuts a major factor

      More than half of the July job cuts were the result of massive troop and civilian workforce reductions announced by the U.S. Army. Those cutbacks will eliminate 57,000 from government payrolls over the next two years.

      “When the military makes cuts, they tend to be deep,”said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “In fact, the last time we saw more than 100,000 job cuts in September of 2011, it was 50,000 cuts by the U.S. Army that dominated the total. With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq winding down and pressure to cut government spending, the military has been vulnerable to reductions.”

      Indeed, some of the biggest job cuts announced in recent years have come from the military and other government agencies. In addition to the 50,000 cuts announced by the Army in 2011, the Air Force announced plans in 2005 to reduce its headcount by 40,000. Between 2002 and 2010, the U.S. Postal Service announced 3 separate job cuts that affected a total of 90,000 workers.

      Other cuts contribute

      While the government sector saw the heaviest cuts last month due to military reductions, the technology sector announced several major workforce reductions. Microsoft shuttered the recently acquired Nokia division, which resulted in 7,800 job losses.

      Electronics and telecommunications equipment manufacturer Qualcomm announced plans to fire 4,500 workers. Chipmaker Intel also announced workforce reductions totaling 3,180 during the month.

      Together, computer and electronics firms announced 18,891 job cuts in July. Computers firms have now announced 25,542 job cuts this year, which is 47% lower than the 48,361 cuts announced by these employers by this point last year.

      Jobless claims

      From the government, word that first-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose last week for the second week running.

      The Labor Department (DOL) reports initial jobless claims totaled 27,000 in the week ending August 1, up 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level.

      Officials say there were no special factors affecting this week's initial claims

      The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile than the weekly calculation and considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, fell 6,500 to 268,250.

      The complete jobless claims report may be found on the DOL website.

      Employers cut jobs in July at a clip not seen in nearly four years. Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas says 105,696 workers were droppe...

      Mahina Mele Farms recalls macadamia nut products

      The products are contaminated with Salmonella

      Mahina Mele Farms is recalling its macadamia nut products after FDA testing found Salmonella in them.

      No illnesses have been reported in connection with these products to date.

      The following products, distributed to retail stores from May 26-29, 2015, primarily on the East Coast and in Hawaii, are being recalled:

      PRODUCTUPCLOT #SIZE
      Izzie Macs! Macadamia Nuts6890767926770166oz (salted)
      Izzie Macs! Macadamia Nuts6890767935750166oz (unsalted)
      Izzie Macs! Macadamia Nuts68907679277601616oz (unsalted)
      Izzie Macs! Macadamia Nuts68907679297401616oz (salted)
      Bulk Macadamia nuts
      (salted and unsalted; wholes and pieces)
      --0165lb bag
      Baby Bruddah's Mac Nut Buttah75318224201901612oz
      Baby Bruddah's Chocolate Mac Nut Buttah73518224204001612oz

      Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them and should return them to the store where purchased for a full refund or replacement.

      Consumers with questions may call 808 328 8987.

      Mahina Mele Farms is recalling its macadamia nut products after FDA testing found Salmonella in them. No illnesses have been reported in connection with t...

      One in five Americans is financially supporting a family member

      TD Ameritrade survey finds plenty of children helping parents

      You hear a lot about Millennials moving back into their parents' basements or otherwise relying on parental financial support.

      What you don't hear so much about are the Millennials and GenXers who are financially supporting their Baby Boomer parents. But it's happening.

      TD Ameritrade’s2015 Financial Support survey explores the struggle Americans feel toward helping a family member in need while still in debt themselves, and it has exposed a few surprises.

      Financial support

      For one, plenty of younger adults are providing financial assistance to their parents. Together with parents who are supporting their adult children, 22% of Americans are providing some level of financial support to a family member, despite having significant debt.

      The survey shows that over the last 12 months financial supporters have given an average of $12,000 in support. That comes to about $630 billion.

      Despite the cost, and the fact that they have other debts to contend with, few of these financial supporters complain that writing checks to family members is causing them financial hardship.

      Only 22% said they had to dip into savings to provide the help while 30% said they made small sacrifices and lived on a tighter budget.

      This, despite the fact that those providing the support reported holding an average debt of $100,000 – mostly mortgage and credit card debt.

      Family members happy to help each other

      Financial supporters are almost twice as likely to be supporting a mother than a father, and mothers receive about $5,000 more support. Sixty-nine percent of parents who support their adult children said they will do so until their children find well-paying jobs.

      Members of Generation X were among the hardest hit by the 2008 financial crisis, since they were just beginning families and trying to advance careers. This hardship shows up in this generation's outlook for the future.

      Half of Generation X believes they have more financial responsibilities than their parents’ generation and 39% believe their generation will never have as secure a financial life as their parents’ generation.

      On the other hand, whether parents helping their adult children or younger adults assisting parents, financial supporters say they are glad to be in a position to help the family member they support and would sacrifice more if needed. A third of parents say they would delay their retirement in order to provide support to their adult child who needed it.

      Conversations

      The survey found that in most cases, this assistance was preceded by frank and open conversation among family members. However, the majority – 79% – made the decision to provide this family assistance without seeking the advice of a financial professional.

      Not surprisingly, the top conversation topics between financial supporters and the family members they support are money management and reducing the need for support.

      For financial services professionals, the chief takeaway is the need to re-evaluate the typical consumer's retirement needs.

      “The financial downside of living longer may mean not only planning for our own extended retirement years, but also caring for aging family members in ways that can take a solid bite out of any well-laid plans,” said Matthew Sadowsky, director of retirement at TD Ameritrade, Inc.”With older generations it can be an especially difficult conversation to have. But, it’s better to have the discussion and do some detective work now – as well as some planning – than get hit with a daunting financial reality later.”

      You hear a lot about Millennials moving back into their parents' basements or otherwise relying on parental financial support.What you don't hear so mu...

      The MIND diet may be huge with aging Boomers

      Eating the right foods and avoiding the wrong ones may ward off dementia

      With the huge Baby Boom population getting older, its members are naturally drawn to products that promote youth and vitality and slow physical and cognitive decline.

      As such, the MIND diet is growing in popularity with this group. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that sticking closely to the food included on the MIND diet may slow natural cognitive decline among aging adults, even when the person is not at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

      Previously, the research team established that the MIND diet may reduce a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

      This new research shows that older adults who followed the MIND diet faithfully showed an equivalent of being 7.5 years younger cognitively than those who followed the diet least.

      The MIND diet

      So, what's included in the MIND diet? The ingredients should be familiar since it is a rough combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. There are ten things you eat and five things you avoid.

      The things you eat include at least three servings of whole grains, a green leafy vegetable, and one other vegetable every day -- along with a glass of wine. Followers of the diet also snack most days on nuts, have beans every other day or so, eat poultry and berries at least twice a week, and fish at least once a week.

      As for the things to avoid, limit consumption of butter, sweets, pastries, whole fat cheese, and fried or fast food. Followers of the diet should have less than a serving a week for any of these products.

      Berries – the only fruit specifically to be included in the MIND diet – are especially important.

      "Blueberries are one of the more potent foods in terms of protecting the brain," said Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist and member of the research team. “Strawberries also have performed well in past studies of the effect of food on cognitive function.”

      Scientifically proven

      To reach its conclusions, the research team assembled 960 older adults who were completely free of dementia and evaluated their cognitive change over nearly five years. The participants averaged 81.4 years in age.

      During the study, the participants were closely followed, receiving yearly standardized testing for cognitive ability in five areas - episodic memory, working memory, semantic memory, visuospatial ability, and perceptual speed.

      The researchers were able to closely follow their subjects' diet, comparing participants' reported adherence to the MIND diet with changes in their cognitive abilities as measured by the tests.

      "The MIND diet modifies the Mediterranean and DASH diets to highlight the foods and nutrients shown through the scientific literature to be associated with dementia prevention." Morris said. "There is still a great deal of study we need to do in this area, and I expect that we'll make further modifications as the science on diet and the brain advances."

      Morris says the MIND diet can pay huge dividends for Boomers, since she says it can not only reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease but slow natural cognitive decline as well. Delaying dementia's onset by just five years, she says, can reduce the cost and prevalence by nearly half.

      With the huge Baby Boom population getting older, its members are naturally drawn to products that promote youth and vitality and slow physical and cogniti...

      Globalstar GPS satellite signals: easy to hack, impossible to patch?

      Unencrypted tracking transmissions can be read or altered

      With the Black Hat USA conference ongoing in Las Vegas this week, there's been an equally ongoing supply of new cybersecurity threats and exploitable vulnerabilities unveiled by researchers there.

      Researcher Colby Moore from the cybersecurity firm Synack discovered a vulnerability in Globalstar GPS tracking devices, which hackers could exploit in order to intercept or block transmissions, or even corrupt them with false data.

      "Fundamentally broken from the get-go"

      Globalstar's satellite phone services are not covered by this vulnerability, since those transmissions are encrypted in transit. But Globalstar's location-trackers don't use encryption, opting instead for a security system that frequently switches frequencies and clutters transmission with lots of inconsequential data. In theory, the combined frequency switches and inconsequential clutter should keep the transmissions secure.

      But in a phone interview with Reuters, Moore said such systems are “kind of fundamentally broken from the get-go. I ended up figuring out how to decode the data in transit.”

      Worse yet, the problem cannot be fixed with software because it's already embedded within the hardware of currently existing devices (although Globalstar could use software to encrypt transmissions and fix these vulnerabilities in whatever hardware it produces from this point forward).

      Globalstar's GPS tracking system isn't quite the same thing as the roadmap GPS systems ordinary drivers use to find their way around. The devices are used primarily to track valuable or sensitive items in shipment, such as armored cars, airplanes and boats, though individual people sometimes subscribe to these tracking services as well. If, for example, you're a backwoods hiker planning a camping trip in the remote wilderness, a typical roadmap GPS isn't useful, but a tracking system such as Globalstar's could help rescuers find you if you get lost or injured.

      False data

      Either way, a hacker planting false data into such a tracking system could cause far more harm (or gain far more illicit profit) than simply making drivers get lost by advising them to take the wrong exit off an Interstate.

      The Christian Science Monitor offered one potential scenario: “It's the middle of the night. Police dispatchers receive a frantic call from a shipping company – one of their drivers triggered a silent alarm to indicate thieves were stealing his cargo. But when officers arrive, they don’t find anything or anyone there. That's because, in movie-like fashion, thieves tampered with the satellite signal transmitting the truck's location and sent officers to the wrong location. Ten miles away, at the actual scene of the crime, robbers are moving the cargo into their own truck.”

      Although there's no evidence indicating that anyone has already taken advantage of this Globalstar exploit, Moore said his results would be very easy for hackers to replicate, and it's possible that some criminal or government agencies might already be spying on Globalstar's tracking network. It's also possible that other networks besides Globalstar have this same vulnerability, Moore noted, though he is not familiar with those networks.

      With the Black Hat USA conference ongoing in Las Vegas this week, there's been an equally ongoing supply of new cybersecurity threats and exploitable vulne...

      Offshore payday lender hit with CFPB lawsuit

      The NDG Enterprise allegedly collected money illegally

      The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing the NDG Enterprise, a complex web of commonly controlled companies, for allegedly collecting money consumers did not owe.

      According to the agency's complaint, the defendants illegally collected loan amounts and fees that were void or that consumers had no obligations to repay, and falsely threatened consumers with lawsuits and imprisonment.

      The CFPB is seeking to end the companies’ alleged illegal practices and obtain monetary relief for consumers.

      “We are taking action against the NDG Enterprise for collecting money it had no right to take from consumers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Companies making loans within the U.S. have to comply with federal law, and the Consumer Bureau will work to ensure that American consumers receive the protections and fair treatment they deserve.”

      Network of companies

      The NDG Enterprise originates and collects payday loans over the Internet to consumers in all 50 states, including states such as New York where those loans are void because they violate state usury caps and licensing requirements.

      The CFPB’s complaint names NDG Financial Corp., Northway Financial Corp., Ltd., Northway Broker, Ltd., E-Care Contact Centers, Ltd., Blizzard Interactive Corp., Sagewood Holdings, Ltd., New World Consolidated Lending Corp., New World Lenders Corp., Payroll Loans First Lenders Corp., and New World RRSP Lenders Corp. All of the defendants except Northway Financial Corp. Ltd. and Northway Broker, Ltd. are Canadian corporations. Northway Financial Corp. Ltd. and Northway Broker, Ltd. are incorporated in Malta. Sagewood Holdings, Ltd. owns a majority interest in NDG Financial Corp., which owns all of the other defendants.

      According to the complaint, the defendants have violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices.

      Among other things, the NDG Enterprise allegedly:

      • Made false threats to consumers: In numerous instances, the defendants falsely represented to consumers that non-payment of debt would result in lawsuit, arrest, imprisonment, or wage garnishment, despite lacking the intention or legal authority to take such actions.
      • Deceived consumers about their debts: Under state law, consumers had no obligation to repay the loans in question that were made by the NDG Enterprise. However, the NDG Enterprise told consumers expressly or by implication that they were obligated to repay loan amounts and fees that they did not actually owe.
      • Used illegal wage-assignment clauses: In numerous instances, the defendants included unlawful, irrevocable wage-assignment clauses in loan agreements. These clauses allowed the defendants to take payments directly from consumers’ employers’ payroll accounts.

      The CFPB lawsuit seeks:

      • Monetary relief and damages: The CFPB wants the defendants to refund the money they took from consumers where the loan amounts were void or the consumer otherwise was not obligated to repay the loan. The complaint also seeks additional damages and costs.
      • No further violations of federal consumer laws: The agency wants the defendants to adhere to all federal consumer financial protection laws, including prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices.

      The CFPB complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law.

      The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing the NDG Enterprise, a complex web of commonly controlled companies, for allegedly collecting money...

      Another solid month for the services sector of the economy

      July marked the 66th consecutive month of growth

      Activity in the non-manufacturing, or services sector, of the economy grew in July for the 66th month in a row.

      The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports the sector registered 60.3% last month – up 4.3% from June.

      The report, issued by Anthony Nieves, CPSM, C.P.M., CFPM, chair of the (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, also showed the Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index rose 3.4% to 64.9%, reflecting growth for the 72nd consecutive month at a faster rate.

      The New Orders Index, meanwhile, jumped 6.6% to 63.8%, and the Employment Index grew for the 17th consecutive month, coming in at 59.6%. Prices increased in July for the fifth consecutive month. Pushing the Prices Index up 0.7% from June to a reading of 53.7%.

      Fifteen non-manufacturing industries reported growth in July. They were -- in order:

      1. Arts, Entertainment & Recreation;
      2. Educational Services;
      3. Retail Trade;
      4. Real Estate, Rental & Leasing;
      5. Public Administration;
      6. Transportation & Warehousing;
      7. Finance & Insurance;
      8. Wholesale Trade;
      9. Health Care & Social Assistance;
      10. Construction;
      11. Utilities;
      12. Accommodation & Food Services;
      13. Management of Companies & Support Services;
      14. Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; and
      15. Information.

      The two industries reporting contraction in July were:

      1. Mining; and
      2. Other Services.

      Activity in the non-manufacturing, or services sector, of the economy grew in July for the 66th month in a row. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM)...

      Job creation continues in July, but at a slower pace

      ADP says the number of new jobs fell below the 200,000 mark

      While private sector employment continued to grow last month, the rate increase was slower than in the two previous months. According to the ADP National Employment Report, 85,000 jobs were created from June to July.

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

      "Job growth is strong, but it has moderated since the beginning of the year,” said Moody's Analytics Chief economist Mark Zandi. “Layoffs in the energy industry and weaker job gains in manufacturing are behind the slowdown. Nonetheless, even at this slower pace of growth, the labor market is fast approaching full employment."

      Who's hiring

      Payrolls for businesses with 49 or fewer employees rose by 59,000, half of the June number, while employment among companies with 50-499 employees increased by 62,000 -- down 16,000 from the previous month.

      Employment at large companies -- those with 500 or more employees -- increased sharply from June, with the creation of 64,000 -- up 30,000 from June. Companies with 500-999 added 17,000 jobs, and firms over 1,000 employees put 47,000 people to work.

      The goods-producing sector added 8,000 jobs in July, down 5,000 from June. There were 15,000 new jobs in the construction industry, 2,000 fewer than were added in June. Meanwhile, manufacturing added just 2,000 jobs in July, after gaining 9,000 in June.

      There were 178,000 new jobs in the service-providing sector last month, compared with 216,000 in June. Professional/business services contributed 42,000 new positions, trade transportation/utilities grew by 25,000, and there were 10,000 hires in financial activities.

      "July employment growth was slower than June, but is still in line with what we have seen since the first of the year," said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. "Notably, large businesses with more than 500 employees had their strongest job gains since last December and were almost double the June number."

      While private sector employment continued to grow last month, the rate increase was slower than in the two previous months. According to the ADP National E...

      Mortgage applications post third straight advance

      Contract interest rates were at their lowest levels more than 2 months

      Another rise in applications for mortgages this past week -- the third in as many weeks.

      The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows applications jumped 4.7% in the week ending July 31.

      The Refinance Index posted a surge of 6%, sending the refinance share of mortgage activity to 51.3% of total applications from 50.6% the previous week.

      “Despite recent concerns about the economy, both purchase and refinance applications increased strongly in response to lower interest rates last week,” said MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher. “Refinance activity was the highest since May when rates were last at this level. The increase in purchase activity was also notable for this time of year -- up 23% relative to a year ago.”

      The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.8% of total applications, the FHA share of total applications rose to 13.8%, while the VA share slipped to 10.5% and the USDA share of total applications dropped to 0.8%.

      Contract interest rates

      • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) fell four basis points -- from 4.17% to 4.13%, its lowest level since May 2015, with points decreasing to 0.34 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) decreased to 4.08%, its lowest level since May 2015, from 4.12%, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.35 (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 dipped 2 basis points to 3.96%, with points decreasing to 0.22 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
      • The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs dropped from 3.39% to 3.36%, its lowest level since May 2015, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
      • The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs dropped from slipped 2 basis points to 3.02%, its lowest level since May 2015, with points increasing to 0.43 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate was unchanged from last week.

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

      Another rise in applications for mortgages this past week -- the third in as many weeks. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows appl...

      Manhattan Group recalls children’s elephant activity toys

      The wooden ring can break into small pieces

      Manhattan Group of Minneapolis, Minn., is recalling about 2,800 My Snuggly Ellie Activity toys.

      The wooden ring can break into small pieces, posing a choking hazard to young children.

      The company has received one report of the wooden ring breaking. No injuries have been reported.

      This recall involves the My Snuggly Ellie Activity toy, a plush brown elephant with white crinkle ears. There is a green hanging loop on top of its head allowing it to be a stroller or crib attachment.

      On the stomach there is a mini mirror while a teether and wooden ring hang below its body. The item number is 212520 and can be found on the small white tag sewn into the bottom of the toy.

      The activity toy, manufactured in China, was sold at specialty toy and baby stores nationwide, and online at www.manhattantoy.com from February 2014, through May 2015, for about $10

      Consumers should immediately take the toy away from young children and return it the place of purchase for a full refund.

      Consumers may contact Manhattan Group toll-free at (800) 541-1345 between 8 am and 5 pm (CT) Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s web site (http://www.manhattantoy.com/k/recalls/RECALLS).

      Manhattan Group of Minneapolis, Minn., is recalling about 2,800 My Snuggly Ellie Activity toys. The wooden ring can break into small pieces, posing a chok...

      John Deere recalls riding lawn tractors

      The brake arm can fail, posing a crash hazard

      Deere & Company of Moline, Ill., is recalling about 2,070 John Deere lawn tractors.

      The brake arm can fail, posing a crash hazard that could result in serious injury or death.

      No incidents or injuries have been reported.

      This recall involves John Deere models D110, D125, D130, D140, D155, D160 and D170 lawn tractors with serial numbers beginning with 1GXD. The model number is printed on the bottom left and right of the hood in yellow. The brand name is printed on top left and right of the hood in black. The serial number is located on the on the left side of tractor, under the fender, above the left rear tire.

      The tractors, manufactured in the U.S., were sold at Home Depot, Lowe’s and other John Deere dealers nationwide from May 2015, through August 2015, for between $1,700 and $2,700.

      Consumers should stop using the recalled lawn tractors immediately and contact a John Deere dealer for a free repair. John Deere is also contacting all registered owners of the recalled lawn tractors directly.

      Consumers may contact Deere & Company at (800) 537-8233 from 8 am – 6 pm (ET) Monday through Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET or online at www.deere.com and select Product Recall Information on the drop-down menu under Services & Support for more information.  

      Deere & Company of Moline, Ill., is recalling about 2,070 John Deere lawn tractors. The brake arm can fail, posing a crash hazard that could result in ser...

      Consumers renew their love affair with trucks, SUVs

      July vehicle sales show the impact of falling gasoline prices

      The new vehicle sales figures for July suggests that there is no economic slowdown when it comes to buying a new car or truck. It also shows the impact of sub $3 a gallon gasoline prices.

      Ford had its best July since 2006, powered higher by incredibly strong sales of trucks and SUVs. Ford trucks – the F-Series – led the way, outselling every other category and posting a 13% increase over July 2014.

      Van sales increased 14% last month with a total of 16,090 vehicles sold. The all-new Transit, which posted sales of 8,025 vehicles for July, drove Ford’s commercial van business to 15-year sales highs.

      SUVs up 11%

      Ford brand SUV sales of 67,282 vehicles represent an 11% increase over year-ago levels, delivering the best July sales results since 2005. Escape sales increased 10%, with 29,253 vehicles sold, representing an all-time July sales record.

      Already-strong Explorer momentum continued with 21,361 sales – a 27% increase. The Edge contributed to the increase as well, with sales up 17% for July. Edge and Explorer are turning fast on dealer lots at just 18 days and 13 days, respectively.

      Ford sold a total of 222,731 vehicles last month, an increase of 5%.

      “With continued improvement in inventory, F-Series retail momentum continued building in July,” said Ford VP Mark LaNeve. “Customers truly value the new F-150’s capability, performance, and fuel efficiency.”

      GM joins in

      GM also had a banner July, with overall sales up 15%, its best showing in eight years. Again, truck sales were huge for GM, with sales of pickups rising 51%.

      The Silverado was up 34% and Colorado sales totaled 7,209 units. GM says the Colorado remains America’s fastest-selling pickup.

      Fiat-Chrysler also had a strong month, helped along by strong sales of Dodge trucks.

      “July’s sales results prove that the “truck party” is still raging,” said Eric Ibara, director of residual values for Kelley Blue Book. “With low gas prices projected for the foreseeable future, there are no indications that this trend is temporary. This shifts the advantage to the domestic manufacturers, whose lineups feature volume models that are trucks rather than sedans, especially Ford.”

      Since trucks are often used in light construction, sales of new trucks are often seen as a positive sign for the economy. The fact that gasoline prices have been below $3 a gallon in most areas for most of the year doesn't hurt either.

      On the other hand, Ibara says the long-term trend doesn't look all that promising for hybrids and other alternative energy vehicles.

      The new vehicle sales figures for July suggests that there is no economic slowdown when it comes to buying a new car or truck. It also shows the impact of ...