Current Events in September 2015

Today, security researchers at FireEye announced their discovery that hackers have managed to seize control of 14 routers in four countries spanning three continents: Ukraine, Mexico, India, and the Philippines. The hacked routers were all made by Cisco, but FireEye says “this attack could be possible on any router technology.”

The attackers breached the routers using a sophisticated form of malware which FireEye named SYNful Knock, as a reference to how the malware, once planted, can jump from one router to another using the devices' syndication functions. “We believe that the detection of SYNful Knock is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to attacks utilizing modified router images (regardless of vendor),” researchers Tony Lee and Bill Hau wrote on FireEye's security blog. “As attackers focus their efforts on gaining persistent access, it is likely that other undetected variants of this implant are being deployed throughout the globe.”

Hacking routers

Routers are responsible for deciphering and then delivering (or “routing”) broadband information from your modem to your computer. As FireEye's Chief Executive Dave DeWalt told Reuters, “If you own [seize control of] the router, you own the data of all the companies and government organizations that sit behind that router.”

Firewalls, anti-virus programs and other anti-hacker security measures might protect your computer, smartphone, or similar device, but it won't protect the routers that deliver information to those devices. “Ironically, [routers] often get overlooked for endpoints, mobile devices, and servers when it comes time to respond to an attack,” FireEye said. “However, a router implanted with a backdoor provides attackers a very easy entry point to establish a foothold and compromise other hosts and critical data.”

If that comment about implanting backdoors sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the so-called “backdoor” mandates which the (ironically named, in such instances) National Security Administration, as well as the FBI and other branches of the government want tech companies to install on all encrypted communications technologies. This would leave a backdoor on each network so that government has full access to read secure information without your knowledge, and if that means hackers also get full access, that's a risk the feds are willing to force you to take.

In March, Microsoft issued a security advisory admitting that it was “aware of a security feature bypass vulnerability” which “affects all supported releases of Microsoft Windows,” in addition to any non-Microsoft software running on a part of Windows called Secure Channel.” That vulnerability was a security flaw known as FREAK, a not-quite-acronym which stands for “Factoring attack on RSA-EXPORT Keys.” FREAK made it possible for attackers to spy on supposedly secure communications. And it was the NSA's anti-encryption “backdoor” mandates that made the vulnerability possible.

Attacks ongoing for at least a year before discovery

Ironically, the NSA's and FBI's own websites were included among the major world websites vulnerable to FREAK attacks.

As Apple CEO Tim Cook said in June, “If you put a key under the mat for the cops, a burglar can find it too.”

That said, the hackers who used SYNful Knock to successfully attack those 14 Cisco routers didn't have to exploit any vulnerability to gain access. Instead, as Cisco said to Reuters, the attackers got in by either stealing valid login credentials from someone else, or by gaining physical access to the routers themselves.

A survey of computer logs suggests the attacks have been ongoing for at least a year before their discovery, and FireEye's Dave DeWalt told Reuters that multiple industries and government agencies were included among the targets.

On Thursday the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (Fed) may announce that it is raising interest rates for the first time in seven years. On the other hand, it might not.

The will it or won't it question has been Wall Street's obsession for months now, and it has spawned a wide variety of economic theories about what happens if the Fed, as expected, raises interest rates by one-quarter of a percent.

Theories range from the apocalyptic to the benign, and any number of smart, thoughtful people paint very different scenarios. So, what is the average consumer to think?

Stock market impact

First, raising interest rates is very likely to have a short-term negative impact on the stock market. That's because of the distorting effect cheap money has on stock valuations.

Think back to the housing bubble. A major reason home values soared as high as they did was because mortgage money to buy them was overly plentiful. Money wasn't exactly cheap but “creative” financing allowed buyers to purchase a home with low “teaser” rates for a couple of years before the rate reset to normal levels.

Current interest rates below 1% make it very cheap to buy stocks on margin, or in the case of corporations to buy back shares of their own companies to keep stock prices high. As a result, traders and investors could justify paying more for a stock than it's really worth, based on its fundamentals.

When rates go up it costs more to buy those shares, so the valuation has to be adjusted lower. That's what many economists expect will happen.

Shiller weighs in

Yale's Nobel economics laureate Robert Shiller has been outspoken in his concern that many stocks are currently overvalued.

“It looks to me a bit like a bubble again with essentially a tripling of stock prices since 2009 in just six years and at the same time people losing confidence in the valuation of the market,” Shiller told the Financial Times.

But Shiller is not one who is predicting a Fed interest rate hike will crash the stock market. He says the market has seen this coming for so long that it's really “no big deal” at this point. But at some point in the future, Shiller said he expects stock valuations to become more realistic, bringing prices down.

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor to Allianz, also believes the market holds some downside risk. But like Shiller, he thinks it could come from worsening economic conditions, rather than Fed policy.

Buying opportunity

But if stocks drop sharply in the months ahead, El-Erian told CNBC that he thinks it would be a “once in a decade” opportunity to buy bargain stocks.

So it sounds like the Fed raising rates might not cause lasting harm to the markets, but what about the economy?

In a media briefing late last week, Claudio Borio, an official of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), noted that developing nation debt, in particular borrowing from the U.S., has surged since the financial crisis. But lately, credit has begun to dry up.

$3 trillion in debt

“The total amount of dollar credit to non-bank borrowers outside the United States had risen by over 50% since early 2009, to $9.6 trillion by the end of March 2015, and almost doubled for emerging market economies, to over $3 trillion,” Borio said.

Much of that money, he says, ended up going to foreign corporations that may, or may not, be able to pay it back.

That's why many international economists are urging the Fed not to raise interest rates just yet. The U.S. economy may be recovering and can withstand a modest hike – the rest of the world, however, might not.

In a global economy, the danger for the U.S. – and by extension U.S. consumers – is the threat that a global recession becomes a U.S. one as well.

The average victim of a “grandmother scam” loses $4,000 to the scammers, Ohio's Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a warning to families. So far this year, DeWine's office has received nearly 40 complaints from victims in his state.

The so-called “grandmother” or “grandparent” scam is a form of impostor scam: scammers call their victims while pretending to be the victims' grandchildren, in dire trouble and in need of money to get out of it. It's a big-enough problem that in summer of 2014, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing in an attempt to find some solution to the problem. An 81-year-old Cincinnati resident named Roger W. (his full name was withheld for fear that additional con artists would seek him out) told the Senate committee his story, which is sadly typical: the previous December, Roger got a call from a scammer claiming to be his grandson.

Supposedly, the grandson had been arrested for speeding and drug possession, and needed bail money. Roger and his wife eventually bought and sent $7,000 worth of prepaid (and untraceable) money cards before finally speaking to their actual grandson on the phone and learning he was fine – no speeding tickets, no police encounters at all, and certainly no calling his grandparents to request thousands of dollars for bail.

“One of the reasons this scam works is that the relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is different than the relationship between a parent and a child,” said Attorney General DeWine. “Grandparents are more likely to send money, no questions asked. Scam artists understand this and they take advantage of it.”

Another thing that makes grandparents extra-likely to fall for this scam is that in today's age of social media, it's quite easy for the scammers to discover some genuine and specific details about the victim's family. A typical caller won't offer a generic greeting such as “Hi, Grandma, this is your grandson”; a grandparent scammer will do enough research to say “Hi, Grandma, this is Jeff. Yes, I'm doing well in my classes at Expensive State U. But I'm currently in a bit of trouble....”

DeWine suggested that, if you ever receive such a phone call, you should ask the caller questions which only an immediate family member would know (and has not shared on Twitter, Facebook, or other forms of social media).

You should also talk to your older relatives to warn them away from this scam, and also discuss ways you would communicate in the event of a true emergency. And always remember that real police fines, court costs, and other legal bills never require (or even accept) pre-paid money cards, wire transfers, or other untraceable methods of payment which the scammers demand.

New safety standards for those tasty-looking little laundry pods are in the works. ASTM International, a safety standards organization, is expected to adopt the standards tomorrow.

The problem is that the pods look like candy, at least to a child's eye. They're fairly easy to bite into and before anyone knows it, the child has swallowed a mouthful of detergent that can cause vomiting, coughing, choking, and respiratory distress.

About 11,700 childen under the age of five were treated for just such incidents in 2014, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Several children have died and hundreds have been hospitalized with serious injuries.

The new ASTM standards are expected to call for child-resistant and less colorful packaging. They will also have a foul-tasting coating on the outside of the pods. ASTM is a non-profit industry organization that sets standards for products and processes. 

Head off legislation

The standards may head off pending Congressional legislation that would have enshrined the standards in law.

“From child-resistant packaging to consistent warning labels, we are glad to see the industry move forward with nearly every policy we outlined in our legislation,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who are among the supporters of the legislation. 

“These are common-sense protections, many of which are in line with standards that have been set in Europe where incident rates have declined.  As these standards are adopted over the next year, we will be monitoring their effectiveness and evaluating whether further action or legislation may be needed,” the lawmakers said.

The pending legislation would require the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to set mandatory safety standards for easily accessible liquid detergent packets. Specifically, the bill would give the CPSC the authority and direction to issue rules requiring safer, child-resistant packaging for liquid detergent packets within eighteen months, compelling the industry to implement stronger and more effective policies

The Food and Drug Administration has used its newly-acquired tobacco regulating power again – this time to order R.J Reynolds to stop selling four cigarette products.

The order covers Camel Crush Bold, Pall Mall Deep Set Recessed Filter, Pall Mall Deep Set Recessed Filter Menthol and Vantage Tech 13, with the agency ruling the products don't meet guidelines set out in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C; Act).

The issue, according to the FDA, is these products are different from their versions that were on the market in early 2007. More specifically, the agency concluded the current products have different characteristics than those that came before and the manufacturer failed to show that the new products do not raise different questions of public health. As a result, the four products may no longer be distributed or sold in the U.S.

Science-based review

“These decisions were based on a rigorous, science-based review designed to protect the public from the harms caused by tobacco use,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “The agency will continue to review product submissions and exercise its legal authority and consumer protection duty to remove products from the market when they fail to meet the public health bar set forth under law.”

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed into law in 2009, gave the FDA new powers to regulate tobacco, which it lacked in the past. However, the agency starting exercising those powers only recently.

In late August, the FDA fired off warning letters to three cigarette manufacturers – ITG Brands LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc., and Sherman’s 1400 Broadway N.Y.C. Ltd. — for making unsubstantiated claims about their products. That was the first time the FDA acted under the 2009 law.

Changed with no notice

In this latest action the agency expressed concern the cigarette products were changed with no notice, making them different from their previous approved versions.

The FDA said the scientific basis for these four decisions include a “failure to demonstrate that increased yields of harmful or potentially harmful constituents, higher levels of menthol, and/or the addition of new ingredients in the currently marketed products– when compared to the predicate products – do not raise different questions of public health.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently adopted new rules that it says will keep your food safe.

The first two of seven rules proposed to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) (the preventive controls rules for human and animal food -- meaning food companies will apply greater controls to prevent hazards) are now final. The additional rules will become final through 2016.

Your first reaction is probably WIIFM -- what's in it for me? Plenty, says FDA. Here are five ways the FSMA rules will affect you:

Food companies tighten their controls

“Rather than just react to outbreaks, we are requiring food facilities to take measures to prevent them from the get-go,” says Jenny Scott, M.S., a senior advisor in FDA’s Office of Food Safety. Food facilities will need to think upfront about what could be harmful to consumers, and then put controls in place to minimize or prevent those hazards.

For example, Scott says the facilities could take steps to kill bacteria that cause foodborne illness or to prevent them from growing in food. If allergens (things that can cause an allergic reaction) are a hazard, the facility could pay particular attention to how equipment is cleaned when it is used for more than one product so that allergens aren’t transferred from one food to another, and ensure that the product label identifies the presence of food allergens. Unidentified food allergens are a major cause of food recalls by industry.

Protections from tainted animal food

With the Preventive Controls for Animal Food rule -- the second final rule -- “the same up-front thinking now required of human food manufacturing will also apply to manufacturers of animal food, including pet food,” says Dan McChesney, Ph.D., director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

If pet food manufacturers have methods in place to kill harmful bacteria, it will be much safer for both the pet and for anyone handling the food, McChesney says.

He adds that with a new prevention-oriented system in place, the FDA expects reductions in the risk of serious illness and death to animals when hazards, such as harmful levels of substances in a product, are controlled.

Healthful and safe eating go hand-in-hand

The final Produce Safety rule, which will be issued this fall, will create safeguards to help prevent illnesses in ways that are appropriate for farms.

“Farms, unlike factories, are open environments,” says Samir Assar, Ph.D., director of FDA’s Division of Produce Safety. “There are elements we understand that farms can’t necessarily control.” However, there are actions that can, and must, be taken to minimize the likelihood of contamination in ways that are practical and feasible for growers.

Farming conditions and methods for growing the same crop can differ widely from state to state and coast to coast, so the new regulations will focus on major conduits of contamination that are common to all or most farming environments, says Assar.

For example, standards have been proposed for agricultural water, farm worker hygiene or cleanliness, compost and sanitation conditions affecting buildings, equipment, and tools. These standards will apply to both domestic and imported produce.

The FDA anticipates the proposed produce rule would prevent hundreds of thousands of illnesses caused by produce each year.

Greater oversight of imported foods

The U.S. imports a lot of food. In fact, 15% of our food supply comes from other countries, including 80% of our seafood, nearly 50% of our fresh fruit and 20% of our fresh vegetables.

The rules specifically affecting imports -- Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) and Third Party Certification -- are scheduled to become final this fall.

“The FSVP rule, when finalized, will require importers to assume greater responsibility to verify that the foods they import into the U.S. meet the same safety standards required of domestic producers,” says senior policy advisor Brian Pendleton, J.D.

A greater sense of confidence

“Up until now, everything has been reactive,” says Darin Detwiler, senior policy coordinator for the advocacy group STOP Foodborne Illness. ”This is the most sweeping food safety legislation passed within the last 70 years.”

It wasn't much, but retail sales were up in August, building on July's advance.

According to the Census Bureau, sales were up 0.2% from the prior month to $447.7 billion, and up 2.2% from the same time last year. The figures take into account seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not price changes.

At the same time, the government revised its figures to show July's sales were up 0.7% instead of the 0.6% reported a month ago.

Strengths and weaknesses

The August increase was powered by increases at auto and parts dealers, restaurants, and grocery stores -- all of which showed gains of 0.7% -- and health and personal care stores (+0.8%). Those gains were offset by sales declines at gas stations (-1.8%), building material and garden equipment supplies dealers (-1.8%), and furniture and home furnishing stores (-0.9%).

Core sales -- which exclude motor vehicle dealers, gas stations, and building material and supply dealers -- were up 0.5% last month.

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

If the beginning of autumn is a busy time for you, then it might be hard to remember what day it is. With so many special occasions coming up, it might even be hard to remember if there’s a special week coming up. One such week that you should mark down on your calendars is Septic Smart Week. Backed by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it runs from September 21-25, and reminds home owners of the importance of maintaining their septic tanks.

Proper maintenance

Proper maintenance on your septic tank can really help you avoid throwing money down the drain. It can be easy to forget this important piece of your home’s infrastructure, but the price of doing so can be very steep. Charges for repairs can cost you thousands if something serious goes wrong.

Unfortunately, this is not a piece of equipment that you can change the batteries for and forget about. Many home owners simply throw an additive into their septic system and hope that any potential clogs will take care of themselves, much to their detriment when a problem finally does pop up.

The best thing you can do to take care of your septic tank is to call a specialist that knows what they’re doing. They can inspect your pump system and see if there are any problems developing that you may not be aware of. It is recommended that you have a specialist look at your system every three to five years.

Although calling a specialist is the best course of action, there is some maintenance that you can do to keep your septic system going strong. First, you should become more aware of what you dump down your sink. Greases from cooked food and other solid objects can wreak havoc on your septic system by causing pipes to clog, which can irritate your drain field.

Similarly, be careful about what you flush down the toilet. Disposable diapers, wipes, and feminine hygiene products can cost you dearly if flushed, so be sure to dispose of them properly. Other objects, like cigarette butts or cat litter, can also be harmful.

Environmental impact

There are other things that you can have installed in your home to help out your septic tank as well. WaterSense products, for example, are great for saving water. Look into their faucets, toilets, and shower heads to see what works best for your home. Having less water flowing can help ensure that you’re not overloading your septic system. You can also save water by changing some common habits, such as spreading out your laundry into several loads or keeping the water running when brushing your teeth. Every little bit helps.

A septic system that is not operating properly will not only cost you money; it can also negatively impact the environment in a big way. Bad septic systems can pollute our water sources with excess nutrients or pathogens, which can make it unsafe to use. Just remember: a healthy septic system doesn’t just help you, it helps everyone. 

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling 149,512 model year 2014 Ram 2500 trucks and 2013-2014 Ram 3500 trucks and cab chassis manufactured October 9, 2012, to July 29, 2014.

The recalled vehicles may have inadequate welds securing the front track bar frame brackets, which may result in the bracket components separating from the frame. Separation could make the vehicle more difficult to steer and control, increasing the risk of a crash.

The remedy for this recall is still under development. The recall is expected to begin October 9, 2015.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is R46.

organicgirl Produce is recalling a limited quantity of organicgirl baby spinach.

Test results indicate the presence of trace levels of the naturally-occurring element cadmium.

Because it is naturally-occurring in the earth's soil, trace levels of cadmium are found in many foods as well as in the water and air. There is no minimum health tolerance for cadmium in crops or soil in the U.S. at this time and the probability of acute health consequences from consumption of cadmium is remote.

No illnesses are reported in association with this recall.

The recall consists of 1,290 cases of five-ounce packages with a Use-by Date of September 13 and Product Code B030298-001B08S. The product was distributed in13 states: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah.

Consumers should check their refrigerators for the recalled product, which should be discarded.

Consumers with questions may call the organicgirl consumer hotline at 866-486-4939, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (PST).

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling 23,629 model year 2013-2015 Dodge Darts manufactured February 24, 2012, to June 16, 2015.

The vehicles may experience failure of the transmission control module (TCM), causing the transmission to unexpectedly shift into neutral. If the transmission shifts into neutral, it can cause loss of motive power, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the TCM and bracket, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is R42.

There is no debate over the danger of high blood pressure. It's a killer. The debate is over what constitutes high blood pressure.

A series of studies has set different benchmarks, with different levels of risk. The latest study –this one produced by a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – could add to the confusion.

In what's being called a landmark clinical trial, researchers monitored the blood pressure of thousands of patients. In particular, they paid attention to systolic pressure – the top number in a blood pressure reading.

The study found that patients over age 50 who used medication to achieve a systolic reading of 120 reduced their rates of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and heart failure, as well as stroke, by almost a third. They reduced the risk of death by almost a quarter, as compared to the target systolic pressure of 140. That's a significant reduction in risk.

“This study provides potentially lifesaving information that will be useful to health care providers as they consider the best treatment options for some of their patients, particularly those over the age of 50,” said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Other research

But it isn't the only study out there. In 2014 an AMA panel of experts issued its Evidence-based Guideline for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults, determining that physicians were shooting too low, especially when they insisted their older patients achieve a blood pressure of 120/80. The panel said patients over 60 were fine with a blood pressure reading of 150/90. Blood pressure goals were also eased for adults with diabetes and kidney disease.

As expected, this was controversial. A month later researchers at Duke University added to the controversy when they proclaimed that there were 5.8 million Americans taking blood pressure medication who really didn't need the pills.

Based on the study sample, the researchers determined that the proportion of U.S. adults considered eligible for hypertension treatment would decrease from 40.6% under the old guidelines to 31.7% under the new recommendations. In other words, a lot fewer patients need to be taking drugs for high blood pressure.

What is normal?

The fact is, if you are 60 years old and in excellent physical condition, with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, you might be able to achieve a systolic reading of 120 without the aid of medication. But if you are a few pounds overweight and spend most of your time at a desk or in a chair, chances are good that you'll need a pill or two to get to 120/80.

So whether a normal blood pressure is easy or difficult to maintain without medication is of enormous importance – to drug manufacturers.

The sale of medication to control blood pressure is a huge part of the pharmaceutical industry. The government reports that in 2010, more than 58 million adults were treated for hypertension and spent more than $20 billion on medication to control blood pressure. According to Statista, the top five selling prescription blood pressure medications brought in $5.27 for pharmaceutical companies in 2011.

And there has been research suggesting that, in the end it might not matter all that much. As we reported in June, researchers at the University of Alabama Birmingham concluded that once you develop hypertension, even if it is eventually controlled with medication, it significantly increases the chance of having a stroke. In addition, the reearchers contend the risk of stroke went up 33% with each blood pressure medicine required to treat blood pressure to goal.

What to do

That doesn't mean that if you have elevated blood pressure you should ignore this latest study, but you probably shouldn't take it at face value either. Instead, have an informed conversation with your health care provider.

Make sure he or she is aware of the 2014 Evidence-based Guideline that raised blood pressure targets for older adults and discuss this latest research as well.

Over the years ConsumerAffairs has reported extensively on blood pressure research. Check out our articles here.

Buying tickets to sporting events and entertainment outside of normal channels has always been tricky, and today there are more ways than ever to lose money.

In the pre-Internet days, shady characters lurked outside performance venues selling last-minute tickets at inflated prices. Today, some online sites do the virtual equivalent, and many sites that promise convenience and low prices often deliver a lot less. Some deliver nothing at all.

AARP estimates that at least 5 million consumers buy fraudulent tickets every year, running up a monthly tab of $4 million in losses. While old-fashioned "scalpers" account for some of the losses, a growing percentage takes place online.

While there are numerous stories of outright fraud occurring on Craigslist, eBay, and similar spots, there are perhaps even more cases in which consumers simply pay an unnecessary premium for tickets by ordering from online sites.

Lori Lochtefeld, who owns the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, Calif., hears these complaints all the time. She's currently incensed by the business practices of BoxOfficeTicketSales.com -- a site that often appears at the top of Google's search results when customers are looking for her theater.

Lochtefeld said that even though BoxOfficeTicketSales.com has created an account in her system, the site does not have an inventory of pre-purchased tickets and is simply placing orders for consumers at premium-plus prices.

"This past weekend an elderly couple paid $149 to see 'West Side Story the Musical' and we were only charging $39," Lochtefeld said. "This company is deceiving elderly people which is terrible. They use Google Adwords to rank at the top of a Google search for my company."

Price comparison

Is it really as bad as Lochtefeld makes it out to be? We checked prices for the Friday, Sept. 18 appearance by comedian Lisa Lampanelli at the Golden State.

When we checked earlier today, BoxOfficeTicketSales.com was selling upper balcony tickets at prices ranging from $213 to $252 each (and be careful -- the default quantity is set at 6 tickets). 

Sounds pretty high for stand-up, you say? Well, we checked the official Golden State Theatre site to see what consumers could pay by going direct to the source.

So that's $213 for the cheapest ticket on BoxOfficeTicketSales.com versus $33.50 on Golden State's own site -- a premium of $179.50 per ticket. A 540% mark-up, in other words.

We contacted Howard Schwartz, an Omaha resident who is listed as the site's registrant and he denied being responsible for the price disparity.

"The website Boxofficeticketsales merely acts as an intermediary between ticket buyers and the ticket sellers. We do not determine the ticket prices as they are set by the ticket sellers," Schwartz said. 

That, Lochtefeld said, is not true. She said her theater and other venues have no control over the prices that BoxOfficeTicketSales charges. 

Buyer beware

Lochtefeld thinks such practices should be illegal and has been filing complaints with federal and state agencies, although it's not quite clear what, if any, laws are being broken. An item or service is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, although there are laws and regulations about misrepresentation and fraud.

BoxOfficeTicketSales.com doesn't, after all, claim to have the cheapest tickets. The "About Us" section of its site says: 

Box Office Ticket Sales is one of the leading ticket providers in the nation. Our incredible selection, service, and security are key factors that make BoxOfficeTicketSales.com a most trusted brand for premium event seating and tickets.

What Lochtefeld takes issue with is the site's next claim:

We have the internets [sic] premier inventory of tickets available for purchase, you can shop our site with confidence knowing that all tickets sold on BoxOfficeTicketSales.com are 100% authentic Guaranteed.

In fact, says Lochtefeld, BoxOfficeTicketSales.com does not have an inventory of tickets to her theater and only buys tickets to fill orders it has already received. 

Could be worse

One could reasonably argue that BoxOfficeTicketSales.com has its thumb on the scale but at least it is not accused of failing to cough up the tickets. That's something you can't say for the many illegitimate ticket-sellers that populate the Internet.

AARP's advice is as sound as any. In a consumer alert a few years ago it said:

• Stick with well-known players like StubHub, Ticketmaster or SeatGeek. Prices may be higher than Craigslist or eBay offerings but the tickets are authentic and guaranteed.
• Before clicking on an online vendor’s website, copy-and-paste its address on an online search engine and see what results come up. This can help you get wind of possible computer malware being installed on your computer if you click on the link, or warnings about deceptive sales from past customers. If all appears kosher, be sure the purchase page address begins with https://, indicating that the site is encrypted to protect your credit card information.

AARP also recommends checking consumer sites like this one to see what other consumers have to say about a ticket-seller. Also be sure to use a credit card or PayPal account so that you have some recourse if the deal goes sour.

Perhaps most basic of all -- try to buy tickets directly from the source. It's the most fool-proof method and often the cheapest. 

Health experts have for some time recommended the Mediterranean diet as a healthy eating plan. It is heavy on fruits and vegetables, fish, and olive oil.

According to the Mayo Clinic, research shows that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease.

“In fact, an analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, as well as a reduced incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases,” the Mayo Clinic staff notes.

Spanish researchers now add reducing the risk of breast cancer to the list of attributes. Scientists at the University of Navarra set out to determine the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of chronic diseases.

Cut risk by two-thirds

It found the diet cut the risk of developing breast cancer by two-thirds.

The participants, all from Spain, followed three types of diet; two were versions of the Mediterranean diet, which heavily relied on extra virgin olive oil and was supplemented by nuts.

Those diets confirm a lower incidence of breast cancer, which is almost a third of that in the control group. The researchers conclude it is the extra virgin olive oil that probably makes the difference.

"All this despite the fact that the control group or comparison group also followed a diet already healthy, which suggests that the results could have been even more significant had it been compared to a dietary pattern as the followed in non-Mediterranean Western countries,” said Dr. Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, a member of the research team.

Preventive strategy

Doctors generally agree that preventive strategies provide the most effective tool to combat breast cancer. The Spanish researchers say having the Mediterranean diet as one of these tools is all the better, since it can also be a tool to promote general health.

Previous research has suggested the Mediterranean diet is linked to lower risk of diabetes and even improves brain function in aging adults.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:

• Consuming mostly plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts
• Skipping the butter and instead going with healthy fats like olive oil
• Flavoring food with herbs and spices instead of salt
• Going easy on red meat – no more than a few times a month
• Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
• Enjoying some red wine in moderation, though that's considered an option

The diet also recognizes the importance of being physically active, and enjoying meals with family and friends.

Student loan debt is about $1.2 trillion and growing, with not everyone who took out students loans able to pay them back.

Student loan default rates doubled between 2000 and 2011, according to Brookings Institution researchers who analyzed U.S. Department of Education administrative data on federal student borrowing, linked to earnings records derived from tax records.

Their report traces most student loan defaults to students who attended for-profit colleges and, to a lesser extent, community colleges. A common thread, the researchers found, was non-traditional students – typically older than the average student – and those attending “non-selective” institutions – schools that accept anyone – were most likely to default.

Weak educational outcomes

“These non-traditional borrowers were drawn from lower income families, attended institutions with relatively weak educational outcomes, and experienced poor labor market outcomes after leaving school,” the authors write.

At the same time, the authors contend students attending traditional public or private non-profit colleges were much less likely to default and have done better in the job market after graduation.

The finding that a significant portion of student loan defaults occurs among students attending for-profit schools is not exactly a new charge. Federal data released last year showed nearly half of the 650,000 federal student loan defaults between 2011 and 2013 were by students at for-profit schools.

Taking issue

Still, some for-profit schools are finding flaws with the Brookings study's conclusions. Mark Brenner, an Apollo Education Group executive, whose subsidiaries include University of Phoenix, told Marketwatch the Brookings study was based on “limited data.”

The Brookings study appears to suggest students who are not qualified to attend college – they choose schools that have no admission requirements – are the ones who take on too much debt and default. The authors say a relatively new development is community college students are defaulting on student loans. In the past, the report says, few of these students took out loans to pay for college.

Accounting for 70% of defaults

“By 2011 borrowers at for-profit and two-year institutions represented almost half of student-loan borrowers leaving school and starting to repay loans, and accounted for 70% of student loan defaults,” the authors write. “In 2000, only one of the top 25 schools whose students owed the most federal debt was a for-profit institution, whereas in 2014, 13 were.”

According to the report, the borrowers from those 13 schools owed about $109 billion—almost 10% of all federal student loans. And once out of school, they faced more difficult employment prospects.

For example, the researchers say the median borrower from a for-profit institution who left school in 2011 and found a job in 2013 earned about $20,900 a year. At the same time, 21% were unemployed.

By comparison, community college borrowers earned $23,900 and only 17% were unemployed.  

During the housing boom of the early 2000s, America went on a home-building binge. When the market crashed, the pendulum swung wildly in the other extreme. Builders who weren't bankrupt drastically slowed construction activity.

As a result, seven years after the meltdown there is a shortage of housing that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) warns has pushed up home values too much in some areas and made rents unusually high just about everywhere.

NAR said it measured new home construction relative to the number of newly employed workers in 146 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) throughout the U.S. to determine whether homebuilding has kept up with the steadily improving pace of job growth. In most cases, it hasn't.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says homebuilding activity for all housing types is underperforming in roughly two–thirds of measured metro areas and that has led to a sharp drop in available homes for sale.

Fewer single-family homes

"In addition to slow housing turnover and the diminishing supply of distressed properties, lagging new home construction — especially single family — has kept available inventory far below balanced levels," he said. "Our research shows that even as the labor market began to strengthen, homebuilding failed to keep up and is now contributing to the stronger price appreciation and eroding affordability currently seen throughout the U.S."

It's understandable that homebuilders might be slow to resume a brisk pace of construction until they see permanent demand. It also takes time to plan new developments and pull the permits.

Still, by NAR's measure, the pace of new home construction is running behind the demand curve, causing a few imbalances in the housing market.

"Affordability issues for buying and renting because of low supply are already well–known in many of the country’s largest metro areas, including San Francisco, San Diego and New York," said Yun. "Additionally, our study found that limited construction is a widespread issue in metro areas of all sizes."

Job growth driving demand

The markets with the largest disparity of jobs versus home construction are those where the economy is strongest – places like San Jose, Calif., San Francisco, San Diego, New York and Miami. Where job growth is much slower, the effects on housing are much less, Yun says.

Millions of homeowners are still underwater, owing more on mortgages than their homes are worth. With those properties off the market for the foreseeable future, Yun says it's going to be up to builders to help restore the supply of homes. Besides causing an unhealthy imbalance in the market, a constricted supply could contibute to another bubble.

"The demand for buying has drastically improved this year and is propelling home sales to a pace not seen since 2007," says Yun. "As local job markets continue to expand, the pool of homebuyers will only increase. That’s why it’s crucial for builders to begin shifting their focus from apartments to the purchase market and make up for lost time.”

But it won't be easy. Yun says homebuilders face rising construction and labor costs, limited credit availability for smaller builders and concerns about the re–emergence of first–time buyers.

But unless construction activity picks up soon, Yun says rising prices will make homes less affordable, whether you're buying or renting.

BMW North America is recalling 7,544 model year 2012-2015 320i, 320xi, 328i, 328xi, 335i, 335xi, and ActiveHybrid3 vehicles manufactured October 20, 2011, to June 22, 2015; 2014-2015 328xi Sports Wagon vehicles manufactured March 21, 2013, to March 17, 2015; 2014-2015 328d, 328xd vehicles manufactured June 28, 2013, to April 21, 2015; and 2014-2015 328xd Sports Wagon vehicles manufactured July 5, 2013, to April 21, 2015.

The vehicles may have been programmed with new software that inadvertently makes the front side marker lights inoperative in conjunction with the parking lights or the headlights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

If the side marker lights do not illuminate, the vehicle may be less visible at night, increasing the risk of a crash.

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will upload revised software to correct the issue, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 9, 2015.  

Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or by email at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.

The One Minute Miracle is expanding an earlier recall of Miracle Diet 30 capsules and Miracle Rock 48 capsules to include all lots of the products.

The dietary supplements contain undeclared drug products making them unapproved drugs.

Miracle Diet 30 contains phenolphthalein, an ingredient used in over-the counter laxatives, which has been removed from the market because of concerns of carcinogenicity. There is a reasonable probability that the health risks of long term phenolphthalein consumption could include serious gastrointestinal disturbances, irregular heartbeat, and cancer with long term use.

Miracle Rock 48 contains thiosildenafil, an analogue of sildenafil which is an approved drug used for the treatment of male sexual enhancement. Based on the similarity of chemical structures thiosildenafil, the analogue of sildenafil is likely to have a similar pharmacological effect as sildenafil and there is a reasonable probability that concomitant use of this dietary supplement and nitrates could cause a sudden and significant drop in blood pressure that may be life threatening.

The company says it has received no reports of illness associated with these products to date.

Miracle Diet 30 capsules, marketed as a dietary supplement to support appetite control and weight loss, is packaged in 30-count plastic bottles. All lots of Miracle Diet 30 through the expiration date of 04/15/2018 are affected. The product was distributed via the Internet throughout the U.S.

Miracle Rock 48 capsules, marketed as a dietary supplement for male sexual enhancement, is packaged in two blister packages of two-count capsules, four capsules per box. All lots of Miracle Rock 48 through the expiration date of 06/01/2018 are affected. The product was distributed via the Internet throughout the U.S.

In addition to the voluntary recall of the above products, the company is withdrawing from the marketplace all sizes and lots of:

• Miracle Cholesterol,
• Miracle Night Time,
• Miracle Joint-Flex,
• Miracle Stud 72,
• Miracle Magic Man,
• Male Mint Gum,
• Miracle 48 Hrs,
• Miracle Magic Woman,
• Miracle Cougar,
• Miracle Cougar Gum,
• Miracle Cougar G-Spot,
• Miracle G-Spot,
• Vagina Rejuvenation,
• Miracle Anti-Wrinkle,
• Miracle Stud Delay,
• Miracle Male Stud Spray,
• Miracle Male Stud Coffee,
• Miracle Male Coffee,
• Male 10,
• Miracle Male Stud Sublingual,
• Male 72 Hr,
• Miracle Tongue Sublingual,
• Miracle Tongue and
• Master Blaster

The company is notifying its customers via mail and is arranging for return of recalled products.

Customers who have Miracle Diet 30 and/or Miracle Rock 48 should stop using and return them immediately to:

The One Minute Miracle Inc.

3322 NE 166 Street

North Miami Beach, FL 33160

Consumers with questions regarding this recall may contact The One Minute Miracle at (305)947-6244 or by email at theoneminutemiracle@gmail.com Monday through Friday, 9:00am through 5:00pm (EST).