Current Events in January 2016

Among the most powerful personal finance tools at a consumer's disposal is the credit score. That number reveals the consumer's standing among lenders.

A high score means the consumer qualifies for loans at the best rates. A score that is too low may mean a consumer qualifies only for a subprime loan, at a higher rate and with less generous terms. There are credit repair companies that offer consumers tools to improve their credit score - to learn more visit our credit repair guide.

When we speak of a consumer's credit score, normally we mean the FICO score, a proprietary formula developed by Fair, Isaac and Company. Most banks and lenders use it but, because it's proprietary, there is a fee to access it.

But other financial organizations and websites have developed their own credit scores, some of which are offered at no charge. Credit Karma is perhaps the best known. It uses much of the same data as FICO and can give a consumer a good idea of his or her credit standing.

WalletHub makes offer permanent

Another personal finance website, WalletHub, has introduced what it said is the first free credit score that is updated on a daily basis. After offering the service on a trial basis last month, WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou has announced the free credit score will be a permanent feature.

“We believe that consumers should not have to make important financial decisions based on outdated information or wonder whether they are being pushed toward a particular financial product because it will really save them the most money or because it’s economically expeditious for the company making the recommendation,” Papadimitriou said in an email to ConsumerAffairs. “That’s why we put the consumer first when designing our Financial Fitness Tool. We want to level the playing field.”

In the website's blog, senior editor John Kiernan says there is no “official” credit score.

1,000 different types

“To the contrary, there are more than 1,000 different types of credit scores in use today, meaning your score will inevitably vary from model to model, and the score that’s most accurate ultimately depends on a given situation,” he writes.

For example, American Express and some other credit card companies sometimes provide a free credit score to cardholders as a premium. In most cases, Kiernan says it's going to be slightly different from your FICO score, or your credit score offered by another free provider.

“Most lenders use publicly available scoring models as the basis for in-house rating systems but apply proprietary modifications that can lead to drastically different final results,” he writes. “In other words, they take the scores that you and I can get and add a little of their own special sauce to make custom scores.”

Importance of credit reports

The fact is, any company formulating a credit score for you gets its data from one place – your credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.

That's why it is important to take advantage of the federal law that gives every consumer the right to inspect his or her credit reports once a year. You don't get to see a credit score, just the raw material that goes into it.

To set access to your free credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com.”

New York City's public Wi-Fi network went live this morning, providing free, advertising-supported Internet access from four hubs on Third Avenue between 15th and 19th Streets.

It's expected the system will spread throughout the city's five boroughs, replacing public phone booths at about 7,500 locations. 

Today's rollout is also a test of the LinkNYC network, which provides newly laid fiber to each hub. The network is still officially in beta and some changes may be made, but for now, the system is significantly faster than many commercially available connections.

A Verge test found both upload and download speeds faster than 300 Mbps.

The hubs, or kiosks, sort of look like updated phone booths, only without the phone. Each hub will include two USB charging ports, touchscreen web browsing, and two 55-inch ad displays.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration is framing the project as an extension of the mayor's focus on inequality.

In a statement, de Blasio called expanded broadband access “essential for everything we need to do to be a fair and just city” and said the system would be not only the largest but also the fastest municipal wi-fi network in the world, The New York Times reported.

Administration officials say the system will help close the "digital divide" by making it easier for low-income New Yorkers to have access to broadband on their smartphones and laptops.

The word “foodie” has been lovingly adopted into the vocabularies of many consumers in recent years. Forty-seven million adults now define themselves as foodies, and 29 million are further categorized by Packaged Facts (2015) as being part of a highly involved, serious culinary core group.

This increased interest in food culture — coupled with the on-the-go lifestyles of many foodies — has brought with it an increase in food choices that are experiential, convenient, and impulse-driven. In the January issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), contributing editor A. Elizabeth Sloan writes about consumers’ mealtime choices and behaviors in 2015.

Americans’ eating behaviors, says Sloan, have shifted as a result of a new megatrend focused on gourmet convenience, interest in more plant-based fare, and a need for more complete grab-and-go meal solutions.

Grab and go

More than ever, consumers seem focused on grab-and-go choices that boast a healthy twist. With half of all eating occasions snacks and a little over one-quarter of consumers eating four of five mini meals daily, it’s no wonder the demand for healthy-yet-convenient options has soared.

Consumers say fresh is the most important snack criteria, followed by flavorful and indulgent. Healthy snacks are now sought after by just over half of consumers, which has led to an increase in sales of organic snacks, fresh produce, and smoothies.

Sales of organic snacks grew 11.6% in 2014, and a quarter of adults say they buy organic to avoid genetically modified components.

Adventurous choices

The number of consumers who enjoy food as an “art form” has climbed 20% over the past five years, so it makes sense that foodies are looking outside the box when it comes time to dine. Trying new drinks and recipes has become important to more consumers (an increase of 34% and 32%, respectively).

Specialty food choices show up in the everyday, at-home meals of two-thirds of adults, and it would appear that people are starting to like cooking again. The number of people who said they enjoy cooking increased by 16% in 2015, according to Packaged Facts. Millennials prepared dinner at home an average of 4.5 nights per week in 2014; Gen Xers, 5 nights; boomers, 5.1 nights.

Adventurous attitudes, combined with the desire to stay home and cook, could be driving the growth of the meal-kit service industry, which is poised to see between $3 to $5 billion in growth over the next ten years, according to INC.com

Healthy habits

More than 83% of consumers are concerned about the nutritional content of the foods they eat, but despite growing interest in natural foods, fortified foods still occupy the foundation of many consumers’ diets. One-third of consumers look for extra vitamins and minerals infused into their products when grocery shopping.

Nine out of 10 adults say that information about fruit and vegetable content is important to them in determining if a food is healthy. That is followed by whether or not a food is preservative-free, has added nutrients or no artificial sweeteners, contains no antibiotics, is unprocessed, natural, or hormone free, is organic or non-genetically modified, and is clean and “real”. 

Chemicals are now the number one consumer food safety issue, up 13 percentage points versus 2014. 

You've finally made the decision to call it a career. But what will you do about that pension that's been building for the last umpteen years?

Fear not. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has put out a guide to help you decide which pension payout option is best for you and make the right decision about retirement income.

The guide gives folks on the cusp of retiring the information they need to understand the trade-offs of taking their pension in a monthly payment or in a lump sum. There are also tips and warnings about how to protect and best manage that money.

“Retirees are increasingly being faced with the difficult one-time choice to either take their pension payments in a lump sum or as a lifetime income stream,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Clear information about the trade-offs they face can help consumers make the right financial decision for their retirement security.”

Your pension plan

Many employees in the private sector are covered by defined benefit pension plans in which retirement benefits are typically based on years of service and earnings, and paid out in the form of lifetime monthly payments.

Increasingly, employers are giving consumers eligible for retirement benefits the option of a one-time payment for all or a portion of their pension, commonly known as a lump-sum payout. In a given year, thousands of retiring consumers face this decision.

According to a government report, many people considering retirement don't get enough information from their employers about the long-term financial impact of choosing between a lump sum or an annuity pension payout or where to find help.

Making the decision

The consumer guide highlights factors that would-be retirees should consider:

• Length of time income is needed: The monthly payment option offers steady lifetime income, which substantially reduces a consumer’s risk of running out of money later in life. A lump-sum payout, however, might make sense if the consumer is terminally ill or in critically poor health, or the consumer already has sufficient income to cover basic living expenses.
• Money management skills: When a consumer chooses a lump-sum pension payout instead of monthly payments, the responsibility for managing the money shifts from the employer to the employee. For a monthly payment option, consumers don’t need to worry about their investment skills or how their financial management skills may change as they age. In contrast, a lump-sum payout can give a consumer the flexibility of choosing to pay off large debts, where to invest or save the money, and when and how much to withdraw.
• Another factor to consider is that a consumer’s pension is typically insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). In the event the retiree’s company declares bankruptcy or cannot make its pension payments, the PBGC guarantees those payments up to a certain amount. Pension payments are also protected against certain creditor claims or debt collectors. With a lump-sum payout, you lose these protections.

Pension payout tips

To assist retirees who plan to make the one-time choice for a lump-sum pension payout, here are some key tips to consider:

• Check for lump-sum calculation errors: Many factors determine a lump-sum payment amount, including age, years of work, earnings history, taxes withheld, and the terms of the plan. Consumers can detect errors by taking a look at their most recent pension statement or a consumer can contact a pension counselor for assistance or to resolve errors.
• Plan for tax consequences: Consumers will pay taxes on a lump-sum payout. This money is generally treated as ordinary income for that year. For this reason, an employer is required to withhold 20% on the amount. In addition, a consumer could pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty tax if he/she has not reached age 59½. Consumers can defer income taxes on their lump sum by rolling over the funds into a qualified retirement account.
• Consider future needs of surviving spouse: If married, consumers should consider the long-term financial well-being of their spouse. A family history of longevity and good health may mean the possibility of spending 20 or more years in retirement. Most pension plans provide monthly benefits to a surviving spouse or another beneficiary after the pension holder’s death through a joint and survivor payout option.
• Protect the lump sum from fraudsters: Older people are often targets of scammers and fraudsters. Consumers should verify information, ask questions, and seek advice from trusted professionals if they are offered high returns and low risk to invest their lump sum.

More information for older Americans about making financial decisions, protecting assets, preventing financial exploitation, and planning for long-term financial security can be found at consumerfinance.gov/older-americans/.

Home builders expect to see the market for newly-built single-family homes grow modestly over the next few months.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) held steady at 60 following a downwardly revised reading in December.

“January’s HMI reading is right in line with our forecast of modest growth for housing,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “The economic outlook remains promising, as consumers regain confidence and home values increase, which will help the housing market move forward.”

Gauging the market

The HMI, which is derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as "good," "fair," or "poor."

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

The HMI component gauging current sales condition rose two points in January, for a total of 67. The index measuring sales expectations in the next six months fell three points to 63, and the component charting buyer traffic dropped two points to 44.

“After eight months hovering in the low 60s, builder sentiment is reflecting that many markets continue to show a gradual improvement, which should bode well for future home sales in the year ahead,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo.

Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, all four regions registered slight declines. The Northeast, Midwest, and West each posted a one-point decline to 49, 57, and 75, respectively, while the South fell two points to 61.

Heritage International (USA) Inc. of Compton, Calif., is recalling one lot of .

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recall only affects one specific lot, which comes in a 16-oz., clear, non-resealable plastic package (with a barcode number of 00505154) and with the lot code, "BEST BEFORE 07.17.2016TF4." The "BEST BEFORE" information can be found on the backside of the package above the barcode.

The product was distributed only to Trader Joe's stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin.

Customers who purchased the recalled product should not eat the product, but dispose of it or return it to any Trader Joe's for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may call Trader Joe's customer relations at (626) 599-3817 6:00AM-6:00PM (PST) Monday - Friday.

Kayem Foods of Chelsea, Mass., is recalling approximately 22,182 pounds of chicken sausage products.

The products are are encased in pork casings, which are not declared on the label and may elicit allergic reactions and may cause allergic reactions in those allergic to pork proteins.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of this product.

The following chicken sausage items, produced on Nov. 4, 2015, are being recalled:

• 12-oz. vacuum-packed packages containing “al fresco SWEET APPLE CHICKEN SAUSAGE” bearing identification code “308 BW12 USE/FRZ BY FEB 7, 2016.”

The recalled products bear establishment number “EST. P-7839” inside the USDA mark of inspection, and were shipped to retail locations nationwide.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Brenda Navaroli at 1-(800) 426-6100.

Older Jeep Cherokees have been implicated in at least 270 deaths and now two of those deaths have led to a Pennsylvania lawsuit that names 17 defendants, beginning with FCA, the current name of what used to be Chrysler.

The accident is similar to the hundreds of others that led to a long-delayed and controversial recall of more than 1.6 million Jeeps. Simply put, the lawsuit claims that Edward and Theresa Dearden died because the fuel tank in their 1995 Jeep Cherokee was placed behind the axle, making it prone to burst into flames in a rear-end collision.

Read a partial timeline of the Jeep fire-death scandal

That's what allegedly happened on May 12, 2014 when the Deardens were involved in a multiple-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 78 in Berks County, Pa.

The Deardens died when a tractor-trailer truck slammed into a line of stopped cars in a construction zone, first striking a Chevrolet Malibu and killing its driver, Robert Rosner. 

Rosner's car then struck a Dodge Caravan occupied by six people which, in turn, rear-ended the Dearden's Jeep, causing it to immediately burst into flames, according to the lawsuit. 

"Not crashworthy"

FCA had issued a recall for a component of the Dearden vehicle prior to the crash but the couple was unaware of the recall, the lawsuit states. "The Dearden vehicle was not crashworthy due to its propensity to burst into flames after rear impacts," the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit argues that Chrysler/FCA knew of the hazard the rear-mounted tanks presented but worked to delay the safety recall even as the death toll from fatal fires continued to climb. 

To this day, FCA argues that the recalled vehicles are safe and claims they have a lower per-mile fatality rate than similar models.

In the past couple of months, consumers who have been affected by the VW diesel scandal have expressed their outrage. In the U.S., numerous consumer groups have filed class action lawsuits, and both the feds and the state of California have rejected company proposals pertaining to the necessary recall. In all, the company stands to lose billions of dollars to U.S. consumers, as well as another $46 billion for violating the Clean Air Act.

Now, Reuters reports that a large number of shareholders are suing the company over the scandal in Germany as well. The suit has been filed by a German firm called Nieding + Barth and seeks to claim hundreds of millions of euros in damages for 66 U.S. and British institutional investors, as well as thousands of private investors.

The action represents what might be the “biggest platform for suits against Volkswagen in Germany,” according to Klaus Nieding.

No end in sight

Nieding + Barth will be using capital market model claims when they make their case in German court – a legal precedent that uses previous court rulings as templates for similar, future rulings. The firm also plans to assert that VW was aware of its emissions violations before the news was first announced in September and that the public should have been told earlier.

Since the scandal broke in September, VW stocks have depreciated by about a third of their original value, a figure representing around $24 billion dollars. Even after the dust settles on the lawsuits we know about, investors from around the world with stakes in the company will be seeking compensation for the money they’ve lost.

Finance groups Bentham Europe and IMF Bentham stated back in November that it would be contacting VW’s top 200 investors for a future damages claim that could break in February. 

A California woman is suing the makers of EOS lip balm, claiming the celebrity-endorsed cosmetic causes blistering, skin-cracking, and rashes. Rachael Cronin also alleges that EOS knows about the problems but fraudulently conceals them from consumers.

"The advertisements and marketing by EOS emphasizes that the product is 'organic' and 'gluten-free,' aligning the product with popular dietary trends, despite the fact that the lip balm has no consumable value," Cronin says. And despite claims that the balms are organic, they contain sodium hyaluronate, ascorbyl palmitate, tocopherols, and butyrospermum parkii, which the FDA considers a "major allergen," according to the complaint, Courthouse News Service reported.

The company says the product is safe and the suit is "without merit."

"Our products are safe to use, are made with the highest quality ingredients and they all meet or exceed all safety and quality standards set out by our industry. An independent laboratory puts each of our products through a battery of rigorous testing to ensure this is the case," EOS says in a posting on its Facebook page.

"Devastating reactions"

But Cronin says that despite the claims of celebrity endorsers including Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, and Miley Cyrus, thousands of consumers are experiencing "devastating adverse reactions to the product, consisting of mild to severe rashes, dryness, bleeding, blistering, cracking and loss of pigmentation, lasting from a few days, to a few months, and some consumers with long lasting and perhaps permanent symptoms." 

Cronin says she bought EOS Summer Fruit lip balm on Dec. 4, 2015, noting that its packaging claimed "EOS keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth" and had no warnings about side effects.

But after using EOS, Cronin said her lips became dry and coarse. She used more EOS and developed blisters and rashes that required medical care, she said.

Cronin posted about her experience on Facebook and said her post "set off a frenzy of responses" from other consumers who said they had similar experiences.

Not all the Facebook posts were sympathetic though.

"Lmfao, people are so stupid. This happens when your lips are chapped and you over use ANY lipbalm [or] lick your lips too much," said Facebook user Chelsea Bateman. "This used to happen to me in middle school ALL the damn time because I was dumb and would lick my lips constantly when they were chapped.EOS wasn't even a thing then."

Residents of Houghton Lake, Mich., no doubt rubbed their eyes when they passed the B&B; gas station on their way to work. The posted price was lower than it was in 1973.

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at Gas Buddy, reports an old-fashioned price was has broken out in the northern Michigan resort town. DeHaan Tweeted a picture showing the posted price at 47 cents a gallon.

Earlier, it had been at 78 cents a gallon, making national news in the process. Apparently, however, that wasn't low enough.

Stations losing money

Wholesale gasoline prices are cheap, but not that cheap. The warring stations are obviously losing money, just like Saudi Arabia, which launched an oil price war more than a year ago in order to damage U.S. shale producers and gain market share.

According to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey, the national average price of gasoline is $1.89 a gallon. In Michigan, the statewide average is $1.72 gallon.

Cheap gasoline is relatively new to Michigan. While most of the country was enjoying low fuel prices back in August, motorists in Michigan were paying $3 a gallon and more because of problems at a BP refinery that supplies much of the Midwest with gasoline.

Gas wars were once fairly common, but that was in the long ago era of cheap gasoline. They were usually short-lived affairs, designed to get attention -- as this one appears to have done.

Summer is normally the season associated with vacation travel, but plenty of snow birds travel in the winter, usually seeking the warmer climate of Florida or the desert southwest.

That keeps lawyers and investigators in Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office pretty busy, as they try to protect consumers from shady travel promoters and outright scammers.

In December, Bondi's office took action to shut down three travel companies it said were deceiving consumers. Now, the attorney general has obtained preliminary injunctions against several other travel related companies she accuses of doing the same thing.

“Unscrupulous sales tactics”

The latest complaint filed by Bondi’s Office accuses Reservation Services International of knowingly allowing its two distributors, Map Destinations, LLC and Florida Beaches Destinations Club, LLC, which operated as Suite Journeys and Diamond Vacations International, “to employ unscrupulous sales tactics to induce consumers into purchasing its vacation club memberships.”

Vacation clubs are a common source of travel grievances. Very often they are marketed the same way timeshares are – requiring consumers to sit through long and sometimes intense sales presentations.

Jeanette, of Boca Raton, Fla., says she recently attended a presentation by a travel company called IIG Promotions.

“Like everyone else on here, we too sat through the travel presentation in Florida,” Jeanette wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “When we were there it looked like they had solicited people who had just retired through Social Security. They got a list somehow.”

Jeanette says she and her husband were pitched a travel package costing $5,000, but they declined.

Something for free

Consumers are often lured into attending travel club sales presentations by the suggestion that they can get something free, or at a reduced price. It hardly ever works out that way.

Bondi says the companies named in her complaint allegedly exaggerated the true savings, nature, and value of the club memberships. She said some consumers paid several thousands of dollars for these travel club memberships that the companies claimed offered deeply discounted wholesale pricing on hotels, condominiums, cruises, rental cars, and vacation packages.

After making the purchase, consumers reported to Bondi's office that they could have gotten the same or better pricing on other free publicly available travel booking websites.

Bondi says the temporary injunction against Reservation Services International includes the appointment of a monitor to oversee the operations. It also freezes company assets and appoints a receiver against the affiliate companies.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions consumers to get plenty of details about the true status of promoted accommodations and promised benefits and, if you end up making a travel club purchase, always pay with a credit card.  

When you're ready to fill your federal income tax return for 2015, you have plenty of options – some of them you pay for, but some are free.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) encourages electronic filing and offers several resources to help.

You may be eligible for free help preparing your tax return from Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs listed here.

Volunteer assistance available

The VITA program offers free tax help to people who meet income requirements – generally $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. The volunteers are certified by the IRS and provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing.

The TCE program provides free tax help for all taxpayers, focusing on those who are 60 years of age and older. It specializes in dealing with questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors. The volunteers are IRS-certified and are often retired people associated with non-profit organizations that receive grants from the IRS.

The IRS also provides help for low-income taxpayers who have tax issues with the agency and can't afford representation. This program is called the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) and you can find details about it here.

Hiring a tax professional

If you are hiring a tax professional to help you with your return, the IRS reminds you that people offering these services have different levels of skills, education, and expertise. Something else to remember – not all tax professionals have the standing to represent taxpayers before the IRS, like in the event of an audit. Check out credentials, qualifications, and services before selecting someone to do your taxes.

The IRS provides a searchable feature on its website to help you find a tax professional in your area.

If you are preparing your own return and earned less than $62,000, the IRS offers Free File software. If you make above $62,000, you can use Free File fillable forms. The forms will do the math for you, but the IRS says you need to pretty much know how to fill out a tax form, since the program provides only basic assistance.

However you plan to do your taxes, the IRS says filing electronically and having your refund direct-deposited will make the process go much faster than filing a paper form and requesting a check.

Once upon a time, when a carmaker introduced a new model, it bragged about its fuel economy, quiet ride, and rack-and-pinion steering. These days, it's more apt to lead with the entertainment system.

Technology plays a much bigger role in the automotive world, so Hyundai introduced its 2017 Elantra by singing the praises of its smartphone interface. The new Hyundai, which launches later this month, will feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities.

Both smartphone integrations will be featured on the 2017 Elantra's seven-inch Display Audio touchscreen system with rearview camera and Hyundai's eight-inch touchscreen navigation system with voice texting, access to music stored on the phone and third-party audio apps.

"By launching our best-selling model, Elantra, with CarPlay and Android Auto support, we are building on our promise to offer more convenience features for today's modern driver at an affordable price point," Mike O'Brien, vice president of product and corporate planning, Hyundai Motor America, said in a release announcing the new model. "Also, the new smartphone integrations will help to keep drivers' eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, helping to reduce driver distraction."

Mimics the iPhone

Because CarPlay mimics the iPhone experience, Hyandai is betting that drivers will be less distracted because they will be familiar with the interface before they even slide behind the wheel.

The driver can make a call, get directions for the best route through traffic, listen to music, and access messages. Hyundai says Siri will provide an eyes-free experience by responding to requests through voice commands, set up through the steering wheel's voice button.

While it is no doubt safer than trying to send or receive a text while speeding down the highway, there have been studies that call into question the total safety of hands-free communications system in cars.

In October, we reported on a AAA study that said many voice-activated vehicle systems are more dangerous than previously thought.

Takes mind-share

It's true that these systems don't occupy your hands, but they do take mind-share, and researchers say that's where the problem lies. Potentially unsafe mental distractions can go on for as long as 27 seconds after dialing, changing music, or sending a text using voice commands, according to the research by conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The eight-inch navigation system will have a home screen that displays map and music information, no matter where the music is coming from. The Blue Link Guidance package comes with a three-month trial.

Other aspects of the car – fuel economy, safety features, and trim take a backseat to the technology, at least when it comes to marketing. At last check, auto sites like Edmunds.com had yet to review the vehicle. There are pictures, however.

The body means well by flipping the “stress switch" on. Feeling stressed amid a life-threatening situation is good, of course, as it raises the chance for survival. But when the body deems a traffic jam “life-threatening,” the stress response is not quite as useful.

When that stress switch gets flipped, experts say the antidote may be right in front of you: just do a good deed. An act of kindness as small as holding an elevator, returning a stray wallet, or helping pick up a stack of papers can actually help you feel less stressed throughout your day, research shows.

“Prosocial” behavior yields positivity

In a study published recently in Clinical Psychology Science, Emily Ansell and two of her Yale School of Medicine colleagues monitored 77 adults over a two-week period. Using a smartphone app, participants recorded stressful experiences and small acts of kindness when prompted.

Results showed that “prosocial” (or helping) behavior led to increased positivity and a decreased negative reaction to stress. "It pretty much kept people feeling similar to days where they were not stressed at all," Ansell tells NPR.

Where stress is the rain, it seems kindness is the umbrella. Positive moods set in motion by small acts of kindness appeared to shelter participants from the negative effects of stress. By contrast, when participants reported fewer instances of helping others than what was average for them, they had a more negative emotional reaction to stress.

Doing more than average

Researchers already knew that people with altruistic tendencies tend to be happier and live longer than non-altruistic types. But Ansell and her colleagues discovered that you don’t have to be Mother Teresa or even be more helpful than the next guy — you just have to be a little nicer than usual.

“It’s all about doing more than your average,” Ansell said. “Being more altruistic than usual can change your experience from day to day.”

This positive reaction to even the slightest amount of extra caring is hardwired in us, according to neuroscientist James Doty, founder of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. “That is the reward for caring," he says. “Evolutionarily speaking, humans need this reward for survival because our big-brained babies require so many years of selfless care.”

Authenticity is key

The study stipulates, however, that you can’t just go through the motions of doing a good deed; it must come from a real place of caring.

"You have to come from a place of authenticity," says Emma Seppala, who directs the Stanford program with Doty. "If you're doing it for explicitly selfish reasons, it's unclear whether you'll get benefits."

The next step for the study’s authors is to figure out how to harness the power of prosocial behavior. A smartphone app that could deliver suggestions about how to alter behavior could help those who struggle with anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders, Ansell surmises.

When compared with how things went in October, the airlines didn't have a particularly good November.

The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Air Travel Consumer Report shows that the reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 83.7% for the month. While that's more than 3% above the year-ago rate, it's down more than 3% from the month before.

In addition, following a month in which there were just two tarmac delays, the airlines reported five delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and one delay of more than four hours on an international flight. Three of the domestic delays were related to an equipment failure at New York City area airports on November 14. All are being investigated.

The report also includes data on cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays along with flight problems, baggage, reservation and ticketing, refunds, consumer service, disability, and discrimination.

Also included are statistics on mishandled baggage reports and reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of animals.

The complete report may be found on the DOT website.

General Motors is recalling 15 model year 2015 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured September 24, 2014, to May 29, 2015.

One of the driver-side seat belt assembly bolts may not be tightened properly. An insufficiently torqued bolt may prevent the seat belt from holding the required load in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten the bolts, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15777.

School Specialty Inc., of Greenville, Wis., is expanding its earlier recall of Classroom Select NeoRok stools to 6,000. About 1,350 were recalled in June 2015. In addition, about 800 were sold in Canada.

The stool can break during use, posing a fall hazard.

The company has received a total of nine reports of stools breaking during use, including one report involving a concussion.

This recall involves new and previously recalled 18-inch tall and 20-inch tall Classroom Select NeoRok Stools with a tilting and rocking feature, for use by children in the classroom. The stools have a round black rubber seat insert with a solid color plastic seat and black rimmed base. The Classroom Select logo is printed on one side of the base and the NeoRok name is printed on the other side of the base.

The stools were sold in 12 colors: Cardinal (red), Claret (maroon), Ebony (black), Imperial (blue), Lilac (purple), Marine (navy blue), Nickel (silver), Paprika (orange), Periwinkle (light blue), Pistachio (green), Saffron (yellow) and Slate (gray). Recalled 18-inch stools are item number 1496340 and recalled 20-inch stools are item number 1496342.

The stools, manufactured in the U.S., were sold via Classroom Direct catalogs, School Specialty Furniture and Equipment catalogs, School Specialty Education Essentials catalogs, School Specialty Early Childhood catalogs, and on www.schoolspecialty.com from May 2015, through November 2015, for between $105 and $115.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled stools and contact School Specialty for a full refund or merchandise credit. Consumers who received replacement stools in the previous recall should also contact the School Specialty for a full refund or merchandise credit. School Specialty is contacting consumers directly.

Consumers may contact School Specialty toll-free at 877-204-3948 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday or online at www.schoolspecialty.com and click on Product Recall on the bottom right.

It has been nearly a week since the world lost famous singer, songwriter, and producer David Bowie. The music icon, perhaps best known for popular songs like “Changes,” “Space Oddity,” and “Ziggy Stardust,” passed away from cancer on January 10, only two days after his 69^th birthday.

While his loss is sincerely felt in the entertainment industry, Bowie was also something of an icon in the finance industry. In the late 90s, he sold off the royalty rights to his first 25 albums by turning them into asset-backed securities. This created what is referred to today as a “Bowie bond.”

Intellectual property as collateral

The use of Bowie bonds was unique at the time because it proposed using intellectual property as a source of collateral; in the original case, it used the current and future revenues of Bowie’s first 25 albums. In 1997, Bowie bonds had an interest rate of 7.9% and a life of 10 years, according to Investopedia.

“Bowie’s bonds were as groundbreaking as his music,” said Rob Ford, money manager at TwentyFour Asset Management, in a report by Bloomberg. “Not only were they followed by a number of other artists, but they set the template for deals backed by a whole range of assets.”

Bowie ended up selling the rights to his albums for $55 million to Fahnestock & Co. and Prudential Insurance, who estimated returns of 7.9% over the life of the bond. It may have been taking a chance, but Bowie’s popularity seemed to be a sure thing.

“He has some songs going back twenty-five years that are still selling today, and they will be selling [in the future],” said managing director of Fahnestock David Pullman to the UPenn Gazette. The bonds originally received an A3 rating from Moody’s Investors Service, marking them as a success at the time.

Leaving a legacy

Unfortunately, things would not continue well for Bowie bonds in the coming years – but not because of Bowie’s popularity. With the advent of the Internet, music piracy became a big problem for music sales. By 2004, Moody’s had revised their original rating of Bowie bonds to be near junk bond status.

But, after 10 years, all Bowie bonds related to the song writer were paid off, and what remained was a legacy that many would follow. Securitizing intellectual property is now done in several industries, including films, music, pharmaceutical patents, food franchises, and many more. According to Bloomberg, sales of such securitizations made up 21% of all asset-backed issuance this past year, with it growing by 16% from a year earlier.

Looking ahead, analysts from Barclays predict that $45 billion will be made in such sales in 2016. Over the past couple of years, the volume of esoteric securitizations has continued to increase, so although he may be gone, artists, content creators, and businesses of all kinds may benefit from Bowie’s innovation for quite some time. 

For more information on finances and financial services, including information on structured settlements, visit the ConsumerAffairs website.