Current Events in January 2016

In the last couple of years studies have suggested Americans spend too much time sitting, and it's taking a toll on health.

But many of us spend our days in front on computers, doing one task or another. True, but it doesn't necessarily mean we have to sit. As we have previously reported, having employees work at desks where they stand up are being considered for their health benefits. 

Now, researchers at the Texas A&M; Health Science Center School of Public Health suggest working while standing may help us do better work.

They tested their theory on a group of students, who were given the choice of standing or sitting while working. Ranjana Mehta, Ph.D., assistant professor at Texas A&M;, used four computerized tests to assess executive functions, the cognitive skills we all use to analyze tasks, break them into steps and keep them in mind until we get them done.

Good executive functions usually translate into better academic performance, since students manage their time effectively, memorize facts, understand what they read, solve multi-step problems, and organize their thoughts in writing.

Significant improvement in executive function

“Test results indicated that continued use of standing desks was associated with significant improvements in executive function and working memory capabilities,” Mehta said in a release. “Changes in corresponding brain activation patterns were also observed.”

In 2014, health care provider Kaiser Permanente released a study showing that prolonged sedentary behavior in men significantly increases the risk of heart attack. The study followed more than 82,000 men aged 45 years and older who were part of the California Men's Health Study and who were enrolled in Kaiser Permanente health plans in the state.

The researcher found a link between spending several hours a day in sedentary inactivity and the increased risk of developing heart failure as compared with men who reported high physical activity and low sedentary time.

Health benefit

Some companies have offered employees the option of a stand-up desk as a health benefit. The new Texas A&M; study may provide further incentive if companies think they'll get more productive employees.

Meanwhile, check out our previous report on the different types of stand-up desks, some even equipped with treadmills.

When electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, first arrived on the scene, they were touted as a way to help smokers kick the habit. A new study suggests, however, that's not how they're being used.

Researchers at the University of California (UC) San Francisco say they discovered that adult smokers who use e-cigarettes are actually 28% less likely to give up cigarettes.

The study appears in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, a journal detailing information about respiratory medicine and critical care.

“As currently being used, e-cigarettes are associated with significantly less quitting among smokers,” concluded first author Sara Kalkhoran, MD, in the article.

Kalkhoran was a clinical fellow at the UCSF School of Medicine when the research was conducted but is now at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She believes the jury is still out on the effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.

Shouldn't be recommended

“E-cigarettes should not be recommended as effective smoking cessation aids until there is evidence that, as promoted and used, they assist smoking cessation,” she writes.

E-cigarettes are long and thin like a tobacco cigarette but are reusable devices that use an electric charge to create water vapor filled with nicotine. The user gets the nicotine rush without the tobacco smoke.

Health officials are still studying the safety of this inhaled vapor but have expressed strong reservations so far.

While it is true that many smokers have tried them, health officials worry that young adults – many of whom have never smoked – are trying them as well. Aside from the unknown health effects, they worry their use can create a nicotine dependency where none existed before.

The California researchers say they reviewed 38 studies that traced the association between e-cigarette use and kicking the cigarette habit among adult smokers. After combining the results of 20 studies they concluded that the odds of quitting smoking were 28 percent lower in smokers who used e-cigarettes compared to those who did not.

In other words, using e-cigarettes made it less likely to stop smoking.

Not marketed in the U.S. as anti-smoking tool

It should be pointed out that e-cigarettes are not specifically marketed as a way to stop smoking. It would require Food and Drug Administration approval to do so, since it would then be considered a medical device.

In the UK, they take a different view. The British National Health Service lists e-cigarettes as an accepted form of nicotine replacement therapy.

In August, a British report suggested e-cigarettes were about 95% less harmful than smoking.

"My reading of the evidence is that smokers who switch to vaping remove almost all the risks smoking poses to their health," Professor Peter Hajek of Queen Mary University wrote in the report.  

The word “algae” may conjure up images of pond scum -- which is not exactly appetizing unless you're a fish. But many health gurus are heralding it as the next big superfood. Time to share the spotlight, kale: experts say algae packs an even bigger nutritional punch.  

Ingesting algae may seem like a strange concept, but it’s actually been done for hundreds of years. The Aztecs were known to utilize the power of algae during a time when most other food sources were poor in nutritional value. (Proof that it’s not just a fad cooked up by health food stores.)

These days, however, algae is a harder sell. With a grocery store full of other options, the idea of welcoming the slimy sea greenery into your diet may be tough to swallow. But once you’ve heard its health benefits, it may become a little easier to fathom.

70% complete protein

Organic blue-green algae grows in the still, alkaline waters of lakes and ponds. The most consumed forms of blue green algae are Spirulina and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA), which both earn superfood status thanks to high concentrations of proteins, vitamins, and nutrients.

Spirulina is one of the highest known protein sources on the planet, containing 70% complete protein (for perspective, a cooked steak contains only 25%). Also on its laundry list of health benefits: increased energy and ability to combat illness, improved respiratory function, and reduced inflammation. It also harnesses the complete spectrum of amino acids -- eight essential and 10 non-essential.

In addition to being good for your insides, it's kind to the earth. One acre of algae can replace 1,000 acres of soy protein, so vegans and vegetarians who rely heavily on soy as a source of protein source can shrink their carbon footprint with algae.

How to eat it

If you’re considering giving algae a shot, the next question might be one of ‘How’—how do I even eat algae, and furthermore, how will my taste buds feel about it? Rest assured that algae can be as delicious as it is nutritious.

Experts say algae can be eaten in the form of a powder or tablet. If it’s in a powder form, adding it to your morning smoothie is an easy way to incorporate it into your day. If you’re craving something sweet, Spirulina can be added to baked goods, such as these Spirulina Power Bites. There's also a relatively new strain of red marine algae called "Dulse," which researchers claim tastes just like bacon.

As with most other supplements, it’s important to talk to your doctor before adding algae to your diet. Due to its ability to increase the immune system, blue-green algae might decrease the effectiveness of medications that decrease the immune system.

Walmart is closing 269 stores globally, 154 of them in the U.S. That sounds like a lot, but the retail giant has nearly 11,600 stores worldwide and says the closings are part of a "sharpened focus" drive.

They also spell the end of a pilot program called Walmart Express, the company's experimental smaller stores. Besides 102 Walmart Express, the closings include 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, six discount centers and four Sam's Clubs. 

“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, in a news release. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”

Walmart said it will focus on strengthening its Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets, expandings its e-commerce busiiness and growing its Pickup service that lets customers order online and pick up at nearby stores.

Online issues

Paying attention to e-commerce sounds like a good idea, judging from recent ConsumerAffairs reviews. Take Michelle of Mckinney, Texas. She's trying to figure out how tea and dryer sheets are related.

"I ordered tea from Walmart online as they are the only ones who seem to have it now. Did not get the tea. What I got was Bounce Dryer Sheets so to say the order was screwed up is understatement, right? And in the shipping package no invoice so that's another screw-up too."

Gail of Yakima, Wash., didn't get any dryer sheets, but she didn't get anything else either, and that's the problem.

"I like to do a lot of shopping online. Trying to navigate Wal-Mart's website is the most frustrating, nerve-wracking experience ever. Constantly having to reload the page. Takes forever to navigate page to page," she said.

"Numerous times I try to access items in my cart to buy and it won't let me. Says it can't retrieve the items in my cart and to try again later. THEN I'll get emails from Wal-Mart saying I have items in my cart. 'You forgot something in your cart'. Really? I can't access it!!! So many times I just flat out gave up and bought what I needed on other websites and have been better off for it."

More Supercenters

Walmart said it intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets in fiscal 2017, which begins Feb. 1. In the same period, Sam’s Club plans to open in seven to 10 new locations. Internationally, Walmart intends to open between 200 and 240 stores during the coming year.

About 16,000 workers will be hit by the closings, about 10,000 of them in the U.S. More than 95 percent of the closed stores in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart, and the hope is that these associates will be placed in nearby locations, the company said.

Where that isn’t possible, the company will provide 60 days of pay and, if eligible, severance, as well as resume and interview skills training. Whether with Walmart or elsewhere, the company’s objective is to help all associates find their next job opportunity.

“The decision to close stores is difficult and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” McMillon said. “We invested considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t take this lightly. We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure they are treated well.”

It's that time of year again. Pest control company Orkin has released it annual list that no city wants to be on: locations with the worst bedbug problems.

This year, Chicago claims first place, based on Orkin service calls at both residential and commercial property. Besides Chicago, the Midwest is heavily represented on the 2015 list.

Fourteen cities in the Midwest – more than any other region – are in the top 50, including multiple cities in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky. Also of note, six cities rose by double-digits on the annual list compared to 2014, including Washington, D.C., which moved to third.

On the positive side, a number of cities improved their bedbug situation from 2014, including Dayton, Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky., and Sacramento, California.

The top 10 for 2015 are:

1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. Washington, D.C.
4. New York
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Philadelphia
7. Detroit
8. Cincinnati
9. Richmond-Petersburg, Va.
10. Baltimore

Easy to pick up

“Bed bugs can travel in luggage and other personal belongings to enter your home,” Orkin Entomologist and Technical Services Director Ron Harrison said in the release. “They don’t just hide in beds – they can be found in furniture, bed posts, rugs, and even electrical outlets.”

Orkin says bed bugs are not necessarily a sign of uncleanliness. They can show up anywhere, even upscale hotels. However, they can be a health issue.

As we reported in 2013, a California woman sued the Renaissance Marriott Hotel in Palm Springs, claiming she was bitten by bed bugs more than 400 times while sleeping at the hotel. The woman said she faced permanent scarring to her face, body, and hands.

However, the Mayo Clinic says bedbug bites are normally a mild irritation. It says they are often difficult to distinguish from other insect bites, “however, they are typically itchy, and they may appear clustered or lined up in rough rows.  

Just one month after the initial crop of 48 TOP SAFETY PICK+ winners was announced, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has added another four vehicles to the winner's circle.

The latest to earn the designation are the Honda Civic 4-door, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX, and Nissan Altima.

The requirements for TOP SAFETY PICK+ were tightened for 2016. Now, winners must earn good ratings in each of the Institute's five crashworthiness tests and have an available front crash prevention system earning an advanced or superior rating.

Those that meet the crashworthiness criteria but have only a basic-rated front crash prevention system qualify for the second-tier award -- TOP SAFETY PICK.

How they performed

The Civic, Sonata, RX, and Altima all come with superior-rated optional front crash prevention systems. In IIHS track tests, the first three vehicles avoided collisions at 12 mph and 25 mph. The Altima avoided a collision at 12 mph, while in the 25 mph test its impact speed was cut by 10 mph. All four systems include a warning function that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.

The Civic 4-door, a small car, and the RX, a midsize luxury SUV, were both redesigned for 2016. The 2015 Civic had qualified for TOP SAFETY PICK under the old criteria, while the previous generation of the RX had never been tested in the small overlap front crash.

The Sonata and the Altima, both midsize cars, were 2015 award winners. Both had their structure improved to raise their small overlap front ratings from acceptable to good. Previously, vehicles could qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ with an acceptable rating in the small overlap front test.

In the case of the Sonata, the improvements were made after production for the 2016 model year had already begun. The award applies only to Sonatas built after October.

Consumers can find a vehicle's manufacture date on the certification label typically located on or near the driver door.

Whether you're a consumer of guns and ammo or think that all weaponry should be melted down and sold as scrap, chances are you're dissatisfied with the nation's laws and policies on guns.

Gallup finds 62% of Americans are dissatisfied with the nation's gun laws, the highest percentage dissatisfied since Gallup's first Mood of the Nation poll in 2001. Dissatisfaction jumped 11 percentage points in one year.

At the close of the Clinton administration, dissatisfaction with gun laws was also high, at 57%. It dipped into the 40s during the Bush presidency and the first term of Obama's presidency. After the Sandy Hook massacre in late 2012, a majority of Americans again became dissatisfied with gun policies, and that has remained the case in the years since.

Should be stricter

Those who are dissatisfied with gun laws are much more likely to say they want these laws to be stricter. Overall, 38% of Americans are dissatisfied with the nation's gun laws and want them made stricter, 15% are dissatisfied and want the laws made less strict, and 9% are dissatisfied but say laws should remain as they are.

Overall, more than twice as many Americans are dissatisfied with current guns laws because they want them stricter than are dissatisfied because they want those laws loosened, 38% vs. 15%, respectively. However, as a sign of increasing polarization on that issue, both of those figures are at or near their 16-year highs.

Republicans are the least dissatisfied with gun laws across political party groups, with 54% saying they are not happy with the nation's gun laws. Independents' dissatisfaction is slightly higher, at 59%. Democrats are the most dissatisfied, at 75%.

In the follow-up question exploring the source of dissatisfaction, 68% of Democrats are dissatisfied and want gun laws to be stricter, much higher than the 12% of Republicans who say the same. Twenty-four percent of Republicans are dissatisfied and say policies should be less strict, with 4% of Democrats saying the same.

December was something of a disappointment for the retail sector of the economy.

Figures released by the Commerce Department show sales totaled just $448.1 billion last month, down 0.1% from November but up 2.2% from the same month a year earlier.

For all of 2015, sales rose just 2.1%

Stifel Financial Chief Economist Lindsey M. Piegza notes that consumer spending momentum has clearly slowed even though we're paying less for gasoline at the pump.

"While low gasoline prices have helped provide a floor to spending, it is clearly not enough to markedly improve retail consumption," she pointed out. "The missing component remains heightened growth in earnings and confidence that today's spending will be easily financed by tomorrow's rise in pay. Modest employment opportunities and minimal income gains will continue to restrict spending in the new year."

The complete December retail sales report is avail;able on the commerce Department website.

Retail holiday sales

In a related development, the National Retail Federation (NRF) says holiday sales last year were up 3% to $626.1 billion. NRF had been expecting total growth -- including online sales -- of 3.7%.

“Make no mistake about it, this was a tough holiday season for the industry,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. He noted that weather, inventory challenges, advances in consumer technology, and the deep discounts that started earlier in the season and carried into January presented stiff headwinds. However, he added that, “despite these factors, the industry rallied, consumers responded and sales still grew at a healthy rate, which is a huge testament to the resilience, knowledge and expertise of our retail leadership.”

Once again, there was no evidence of inflation on the wholesale level in December.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand dipped 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, continuing the zig-zag pattern that saw them rise 0.3% in November and fall 0.4% in October.

The December decrease was led by prices for goods, which were down 0.7% the sixth consecutive decline. Most of the drop last month was in the energy sector, where prices plunged 3.4%. Food costs were down 1.3%.

Prices for final demand services edged 0.1% higher following an advance of 0.5% in November. The increase was led by services related to securities brokerage and dealing, which shot up 30.3%. Costs for for machinery, equipment, parts, and supplies wholesaling -- including physician care, food retailing, and hospital inpatient care also moved higher.

For all of 2015, the final demand PPI was down 1.0%, after rising 0.9% in 2014.

The complete PPI report is available on the BLS website.

Jobless claims

In a separate report, the Department of Labor (DOL) says first-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 in the week ending January 9 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000. The previous week's level of initial jobless claims was unrevised. The DOL says no special factors affected this week's headount.

The four-week moving average, which is seen as a better gauge of the labor market because it lacks the volatility of the weekly tally, totaled 278,750 -- an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised average.

The full report may be found on the DOL website.

BMW of North America is recalling one model year 2016 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door vehicle manufactured November 24, 2015, and one BMW X1 Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) manufactured October, 19 2015.

The steering gearbox may have been manufactured with incorrect parts. A malfunction may cause a loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of a crash.

BMW will replace the steering gearbox, free of charge. Affected vehicles are located in dealer inventory and will be remedied before customer retail.

The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Steelcase Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., is recalling about 17,000 “Rocky” model swivel chairs.

The screws connecting the seat and back to the base of the chair can detach, posing a fall hazard to the user.

The firm has received 311 reports of incidents, including one report of an injury.

This recall involves 12 models of Steelcase “Rocky” style swivel chairs manufactured between 2005 and 2015. The molded polypropylene chairs were sold in black and white with the option of an upholstered seat and back, seat only or no upholstery.

The chairs have a foldable seat, molded-in arms and either a four-star wheel base or a five-star wheel base.

The following model numbers can be found on the underside of the seat:

The chairs, manufactured in the U.S United States from 2005-2011, and Mexico from 2011-2015, were sold at Steelcase independently owned dealers nationwide from August 2005, to June 2015, for between $500 and $1,550.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chairs and contact Steelcase to arrange for a free repair.

Consumers may contact Steelcase at 800-210-5109 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, online at www.steelcase.com and click on “Rocky Chair Recall” for more information or by email at retrofits@steelcase.com.

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, it was easy to predict that scammers would try to cash in on the awareness and hype surrounding the record Powerball jackpot. Officials confirmed Thursday that three winning tickets had been sold.

Cue the scammers. It wasn't long before this message was making the rounds on Facebook:

“I WASNT GOING TO PUT THIS ON FB BUT I COULDNT HOLD IT AND I STILL CANT BELIEVE THIS!!! I WON $1.5 BILLION. MY FAMILY HAS BEEN CRYING FOR HOURS.”

First of all, there were three winning tickets for a $1.6 billion jackpot, so no one individual won $1.5 billion. Any crying was purely crocodile tears.

The post continues:

“I am picking 10 random people who share this photo and giving them $10,000 each. CALL ME CRAZY BUT GOD is GOOD! FOLLOW ME ON INSTRAGRAM.”

We've seen this one before

Okay, it's “instagram,” not “instragram.” But the bigger point is this is exactly the same scam that was hot a couple of weeks ago, when a similar poster claimed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who made news when he said he and his wife were donating 99% of their stock to charity, was picking 10 Facebook users at random to share in the riches. To qualify, one supposedly had to “Like” or “Share” something.

While this might qualify more as a hoax than a scam, the potential for dangerous fraud exists if you get sucked into claims of free Powerball money. Ahead of the drawing, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine issued this warning to be on guard against creative schemers.

“If you receive a call saying you’ve won the lottery, it’s almost always a scam,” Attorney General DeWine said in the alert. “Con artists play on what’s in the news, so we’re warning people to be wary of scams as the Powerball jackpot grows.”

Average loss of $5,000

Over the last four weeks as the jackpot grew, DeWine said his office's Consumer Protection Section had received more than two dozen complaints involving sweepstakes or prize scams. The average reported loss, he said, was about $5,000.

DeWine says consumers should hang up on any callers who say they have won lottery money. That's not how it works.

In most cases, the scammers who say their victim has won the lottery require them to send several thousand dollars – always in a non-traceable manner – in order to receive their millions. Again, that's not how any lottery works.

If you happen to get one of these calls, hang up and report it to your local police department and state attorney general.

The time for holiday shopping is now firmly behind us as we move into the new year, but did you end up getting everything you wanted? Online shopping continued to grow this past year, and online memberships provided huge benefits to consumers who shelled out the money and took advantage of them.

Luckily, Amazon, one of the more popular online retailers, has decided to make signing up for a membership a little more affordable for a short time. For this coming weekend only, the company is discounting the price of its annual membership, Amazon Prime, by roughly 26%.

The discount honors Amazon’s recent Golden Globe award for its original series “Mozart in the Jungle”, according to Business Insider. Consumers looking to take advantage of it will only have to pay $73 for the membership, a nod towards this year’s 73^rd annual Golden Globes.

Amazon Prime comes with a number of benefits for the consumer, including free two-day shipping, free same-day delivery on select items, and access to several different features, like Prime Instant Video, Prime Music, and Prime Photos.  

The sale will begin officially on Friday at 9:00 p.m. (PST) and will end on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (PST). 

One of a dog’s best qualities is their ability to know just when to snuggle up next to you on the couch. Whether you’ve had a rough day or you’re down with the flu, you can always count on a dog to be all love and no judgement.

But sick day snuggling with Fido when you’re home with a cold or flu can often beg the question, “Can my dog catch this?”

Well, good news: doctors say it’s perfectly safe to keep canine company even when you may be contagious to other humans.

Human viruses aren’t spread

Keep your chicken soup close and your pup closer because, according to a Vanderbuilt infectious disease expert, pets won’t catch or spread human viruses. Even people who pet your dog after you are in the clear.

“The pet is a comfort, not a hazard,” said William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in a statement to Newswise. “Even somebody who pets the dog or cat after you is unlikely to catch your virus that way, and you can’t get a cold or the flu from your dog or cat.”

But while pets get the green light to enter the room you’ve quarantined yourself in, Schaffner says it’s the two-legged creatures you’ll need to steer clear of. Close contact with other people is how viruses are spread.

Person-to-person contact

"Flu is transmitted person-to-person through close personal contact,” says Schaffner. “If you get within my breathing zone, within three feet, I can transfer the influenza virus to you. I breathe it out, you breathe it in, and you can be infected.”

Colds and flu can also be transmitted by hand or via surfaces, so it’s important to ease up on the handshakes when you’re sick.

“People should wash their hands often and use hand sanitizer,” Schaffner said. “Also, when flu is rampant in the community, greet friends with an elbow bump rather than a handshake.”

Diseases that can be spread

Even though dogs can’t get or spread human viruses like the flu, they can spread other diseases to humans. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are a number of diseases that dogs can pass along to their human owners, including Ringworm, Roundworms, Rabies, Lyme Disease, and Scabies.

To protect yourself from these diseases, it’s important to keep vaccinations up-to-date. Both for pets and people, the best way to avoid getting sick is to be immunized. Pets should get their annual vaccinations and people should get a flu shot.

The only difference is, Schaffner notes, “People don’t get a shiny tag to wear showing that they are up-to-date on immunizations.”

The North American International Auto Show is underway in Detroit this week, with carmakers from around the world showing off their upcoming models.

Setting the stage, 53 U.S. and Canadian auto journalists named the Honda Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year, and the Volvo XC90 as the 2016 North American Truck/Utility of the Year.

It's not a new experience for either model. The Civic won in 2006 and the XC90 took top honors in 2003.

In the industry, the awards carry a lot of weight, precisely because there is so much independent input. Instead of one entity picking the winners, the best cars emerge as a consensus choice.

Judges consider things like innovation, comfort, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value for the money.

The finalists

In the final balloting, the Civic came out ahead of the Chevrolet Malibu and Mazda MX-5 Miata.

The Volvo XC90 edged out the Honda Pilot and Nissan Titan XD.

The industry has been impressed by both vehicles. Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor of Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com, says the Honda Civic has set itself apart in the compact car market with a strong emphasis on amenities and style. He says the introduction of the first turbocharged engine in Honda’s lineup provides excellent performance and fuel economy.

“Repositioned further up the luxury scale, the Volvo XC90 offers stylish looks inside and out, an advanced touch screen that rivals Tesla while delivering safety and performance consistent with the Swedish automaker’s brand image,” DeLorenzo said in comments emailed to ConsumerAffairs last month.

Product reveals

The winners were announced at the start of the auto show. The show's chairman, Paul Sabatini, says show participants plan even more product reveals this year.

"Of the 57 introductions at NAIAS, nearly 90% were worldwide debuts, which is an incredible testament to the global position of importance that NAIAS plays in automakers' new vehicle and technology launch strategies," Sabatini said in a statement.

Technology remains an emerging trend at the auto show, as carmakers display autonomous and driver-assist features. Even with rock bottom gasoline prices, plug-in hybrids are playing a prominent role as well.

Quality Bicycle Products Inc. (QBP) of Bloomington, Minn., is recalling 1,000 Stolen series BMX bicycles.

The bicycle’s front wheel can detach due to improperly fitting retention washers, posing a fall hazard to the rider, thus failing to meet the federal bicycle standard.

The firm has received one report of an incident. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Stolen series BMX bicycles, including Stolen Agent 16CB and 16FW, Stolen Compact, Stolen Casino and Stolen Stereo models. “Stolen” and the model name are printed on the frame of the bicycles.

The Agent 16-inch bikes were sold in dark blue, the Compact 20-inch bikes were sold in neon orange and satin white, the Casino 20-inch bikes were sold in phosphate raw (gray), highlight yellow and electric red, and the Stereo 20-inch bikes were sold in satin black and electric green.

The bicycles, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at BMX bicycle/product dealers, Stolen series BMX distributors and specialty bicycle retailers nationwide and online at www.QBP.com and other BMX bicycle/product websites from September 2015, through October, 2015 for between $230 and $350.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled BMX bicycles and return them to the store where purchased for a free inspection and free replacement wheel retention washers.

Consumers may contact QBP toll-free at 844-610-7484 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday or online at www.qbpbmx.com and click on the Recall Information tab for more information.

Cost Plus Management Services of Oakland, Calif., is recalling about 1,180 Tovin chairs.

The legs on the chair can bend or break, posing a fall hazard to the user.

The company has received five reports of the chair legs bending or breaking. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves upholstered Tovin chairs sold in a black and white print. The chairs are 32 inches tall by 23 inches wide, and have a wooden frame with clear floor glides. SKU number 507667 is printed on a UPC sticker affixed to the underside of the chair.

The chairs, manufactured in Vietnam, were sold exclusively at Cost Plus World Market and World Market stores nationwide and online at www.worldmarket.com from July 2015, through October 2015, for about $240.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chair and return it to any Cost Plus World Market or World Market store for a full refund.

Consumers may contact Cost Plus World Market toll-free at 877-967-5362 from 7 a.m. to midnight ET daily or online at www.worldmarket.com and click on “Product Recalls” for more information.

BMW of North America is recalling 16 model year 2015 i8 vehicles manufactured May 29, 2015, to June 5, 2015.

Improperly drilled holes within the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) hydraulic unit may restrict one or more pistons impairing the DSC functions, including braking.

Impaired DSC functionality may affect vehicle handling and braking and increase the risk of a crash.

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the DSC hydraulic unit, and replace if necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 10, 2016.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.