Current Events in March 2017

What is it about trains? They remind us of a simpler, less harried era, when we had the time to travel at a more leisurely pace. There’s a certain romance to trains as well. The ability to view the unfolding panorama, sitting side-by-side with a travel companion, with time for unhurried conversation.

Trains slow us down and we become present in our lives – a very nice place to be while on vacation. Best of all, trains take us to places inaccessible by other modes of transportation. Here are four of my favorite trips.

White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad

Follow the perilous path of the Klondike gold rush pioneers while riding a narrow-gauge railroad from Skagway, Alaska into the heart of the Yukon. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad offers several different route options that take you past glacial rivers, waterfalls, and gorges, giving you an authentic taste of what was wild Alaska.

Not for the faint of heart, I took the three-hour excursion to White Pass Summit from Skagway, Alaska, a fully-narrated, forty-mile round trip excursion that climbed from tidewater at Skagway to the Summit of the White Pass - a 2,865 foot elevation. We passed through two tunnels, over sky-high trestles and cascading waterfalls. As we entered Canada and began our turn-around, champagne was served.

The railroad recommends the 8:15 a.m. train for best conditions, available daily, for the soft morning light, or the 4:30 p.m. train, which runs Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for the glow of the evening light. There are also fewer passengers on these trains. 

Glacier Express

The Glacier Express is a misnomer as it is a slow ride, allowing passengers to fully experience the breathtaking Swiss Alps through huge panoramic windows. The eight-hour journey connects the alpine village of Zermatt, with stunning views of the Matterhorn, to the resort town of St. Moritz. Along the way you pass the Albula Line with the Solis and Landwasser viaducts and spiral tunnels, the Rhine Gorge, known as the Grand Canyon of Switzerland, and the Oberalp Pass.

The train operates year-round with a regular schedule. The Glacier Express, a narrow-gauge train, offers two types of tickets: 1st class and 2nd class. Meals, available at additional cost, are freshly prepared on board and served at your seat along with regional wines. On my trip, we packed a picnic lunch. More information can be found here.

Rocky Mountaineer

The Canadian Rockies are spectacular, and the Rocky Mountaineer takes you through majestic areas you can only see by train. Billing itself as a world-class travel experience, it offers four different routes through the Canadian Rockies. You can book a variety of packages that include overnight stays, or you can travel independently and buy one-way tickets. I traveled from Vancouver to Whistler and returned via minivan.

Two types of tickets are available: Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. You’ll get great views, meals, and service on both, but the Gold Leaf is premium. Both services have dome cars with panoramic windows, but the Gold Leaf service has upper-level glass domes. Breakfasts and lunches are included. There are over sixty-five packages to choose from with options, such as: circle routes, starting and ending in the same city, to one way destinations, or adding an Alaskan cruise. Enter your criteria to choose a package that works for you.

Verde Canyon Railroad

The Verde Canyon Railroad is a great way to see the unspoiled Verde Canyon and Verde River while seated in a luxurious coach with open-air viewing cars, pulled by vintage diesel engines. Known as a “heritage railroad,” the train boards in Clarkdale, Arizona and travels to the turn-around point in Perkinsville, Arizona.

On the return to Clarksdale, shadows and changing light give another perspective to the craggy rock faces. I took the Summer Starlight trip. As darkness set in, we viewed the sky from the open-air car and were amazed by what seemed like a web of stars. With no ambient light, we were treated to a stunning view of the milky way. Summer Starlight trips are offered this year on June 18, July 16, August 20, and September 17, departing at 5:30 p.m. and returning at 9:30 p.m. More information can be found here.

Editor's note:  The author of this story has no financial interest in the companies, products or services discussed and has accepted no gratuities, payments or free merchandise. Any samples provided for research purposes were returned immediately upon conclusion of the research. 

Last May, the state of New York sued Domino’s pizza for allegedly underpaying its workers by an estimated $565,000. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had said that the wage violations were the result of franchisees using a computer system called “PULSE,” which had been known to undercalculate gross wages and overtime pay.

“At some point, a company has to take responsibility for its actions and for its workers’ well-being. We’ve found rampant wage violations at Domino’s franchise stores. And, as our suit alleges, we’ve discovered that Domino’s headquarters was intensely involved in store operations, and even caused many of these violations,” said Schneiderman in a statement.

The case quickly attracted attention because it was the first time that New York had held a corporation liable for actions taken by its franchisees. However, it seems that three franchisees will ultimately be footing the bill for the suit. Shueb Ahmed, Anthony Maestri, and Matthew Denman, the owners of the three franchisees comprising ten restaurants, will pay back $150,000, $240,000, and $90,000, respectively, to affected employees.

Under the proposed agreement, Domino’s will remain a defendant in the case because of further allegations of wage theft across the New York. Schneiderman says that similar wage theft accusations and labor law violations have been resolved throughout the state, with money going back into workers’ pockets.

"The Attorney General has now settled investigations into labor law violations at 71 Domino's franchise locations in New York State, owned by fifteen individual franchisees. These locations comprise more than half of the franchise stores and over a third of the total number of Domino's stores in New York. . . The Attorney General's office has secured nearly $2 million in total restitution for Domino's workers statewide through these settlements," the Attorney General’s office stated in a release.

“My office will continue with our lawsuit against Domino’s Pizza to end the systemic violations of workers’ rights that have occurred in franchises across the State. We will not allow businesses to turn a blind e to blatant violations that are cheating hard working New Yorkers out of a fair day’s pay,” said Schneiderman.

An expanding nation needs room to spread out. That's the thinking behind proposed Congressional legislation that would provide a minimum seat size on commercial airliners, as well as a minimum distance between rows of seats.

The measure, introduced in both the House and Senate, is aptly titled SEAT -- Seat Egress in Air Travel. 

“Airline passengers are tired of being squeezed,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). “Shrinking seat sizes in airplanes isn’t just a matter of comfort but the safety and health of passengers as well. Planes need to be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency. In addition, doctors have warned that deep vein thrombosis can afflict passengers who do not move their legs enough during longer flights. The safety and health of passengers must come before airline profits."

Profits soar, seats shrink

“As airlines’ profits skyrocket, passengers’ seats keep shrinking,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. “The incredible shrinking airline seat is more than just an inconvenience. Raising concerns of deadly blood clots and slowed evacuation, today’s cramped cabins threaten the health and safety of passengers. This commonsense bill would establish a minimum seat size and return some much-needed sanity to our skies.”

The average distance between rows of seats has dropped from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width of an airline seat has also shrunk from 18 inches to about 16 1/2.  

Congress is working to renew authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with the current authority set to expire on September 30, 2017. The SEAT Act was introduced as an amendment to FAA Reauthorization legislation last year.

Most consumers between ages 18 and 34 were raised in an increasingly health-conscious U.S., and their eating habits reflect it. Now, new research suggests Millennials are reshaping how Americans eat.

Members of the generation often prefer to eat more ‘wholesome’ snacks instead of abiding by the three-meals-a-day standard, according to a recent survey commissioned by Welch’s Global Ingredients Group.

The survey found that 92% of Millennials eat a snack instead of having breakfast, lunch, or dinner at least once a week. Half of the respondents said they eat a snack over a meal about four times a week, and 26% percent said they do so up to seven times a week.

Customization

With a growing number of Millennials opting for snacks as meal replacements, munchies are expected to be both healthful and tasty. Portability is also key, since 39% of Millennials said they snack because they are too busy to sit down and eat a meal.

In addition to ditching the three-meals-a-day standard, Millennials have shown a preference for customization when it comes to meals and snacks.

A new report suggests companies aiming to target Millennials should consider incorporating salad bars and self-service hot food stations, since customized dining experiences tend to go over well with Millennials.

Mashups and bowls

Another culinary trend popular among Millennials: mashups. The latest issue of Packaged Facts' Culinary Trend Tracking Series notes that mashups are taking up where fusion left off, creating a growing opportunity for consumers to create the craziest mixed up food or beverage they can think of.

Finally, bowls may have an edge over plates and other eating vessels when it comes to winning the favor of Millennials. Members of the generation prefer bowls because they allow for creative expression and offer plenty of room for healthy ingredients such as rice, quinoa, açai, and noodles.

Despite efforts to reduce the effects of flame retardants used in furniture, electronics, and other devices, researchers continue to find health risks related to the chemicals. The latest study ties flame retardants to developmental problems in children.

Researchers from Oregon State University found a "significant relationship" between social behaviors among children and their exposure to widely used flame retardants, said Molly Kile, an environmental epidemiologist and associate professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at OSU.

"When we analyzed behavior assessments and exposure levels, we observed that the children who had more exposure to certain types of the flame retardant were more likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors such as aggression, defiance, hyperactivity, inattention and bullying," said Kile, the corresponding author of the study, published in the journal Environmental Health.

"This is an intriguing finding because no one had previously studied the behavioral effects of organophosphate classes of flame retardants, which have been added to consumer products more recently," Kile said.

Foundation for success

Manufacturers started adding flame retardants in 1975 in response to a new California law aimed at reducing flammability in common household items. That law has since been revised, but the chemicals are still widely used and their effects linger. 

The most common types of flame retardants are brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) and organophosphate-based flame retardants (OPFRs). 

Past research has shown that both BDEs and OPFRs are linked to poorer cognitive function in children. But less is known about the relationship between the flame retardants and children's social and emotional health, particularly during early childhood, a key developmental period for learning.

"The social skills children learn during preschool set the foundation for their success in school, and also for their social and emotional health and well-being later in life," said Shannon Lipscomb, an associate professor and lead of the human development and family sciences program at OSU-Cascades and a co-author of the study.

Negative social effects

For this study, the OSU research team recruited 92 Oregon children between ages 3-5 to wear a silicone wristband for seven days to measure exposure to flame retardants. They found that all of the children had some exposure to the chemicals 

Children who had higher exposure rates of OFPRs showed less responsible behavior and more aggression, defiance, hyperactivity, inattention, and bullying behaviors. Children with higher exposure to BDEs were seen as less assertive by their teachers. All of these social skills play an important role in a child's ability to succeed academically and socially.

"We detected these links between flame retardant and children's social behaviors while controlling for differences in family demographics, home learning environments and adversity," Lipscomb said. "This suggests that flame retardants may have a unique effect on development apart from the effects of children's early social experiences."

Further study is needed, the researchers said.

Consumers are spending more and more and putting it on plastic. That's not so bad if they pay it off each month, but a new report says they aren't.

The personal finance site WalletHub.com has issued a report, showing consumers put a record $60.4 billion on their credit cards in the fourth quarter of 2016. The authors of the report say that's "a serious cause for concern."

Here's why: it's the largest increase in fourth quarter credit card debt since 2007, which is when The Great Recession began. It's the third-largest total in the last 30 years.

But what's worse, it ballooned credit card balances. The spending increased net credit card debt in 2016 by $89.2 billion, the largest annual increase -- again -- since 2007.

The report paints the picture of a troubling trend. Consumers added $21.9 billion in new credit card debt during the third quarter last year. That came on the heels of a record second quarter increase in debt of $34.4 billion. Meanwhile, the first quarter of last year saw the smallest pay-down of credit card debt since 2008.

"So it is not a question of whether consumers are weakening financially, but rather how long this trend toward pre-recession habits will last and just how bad it will get," the authors write. "And WalletHub projects that in 2017 we will surpass the current record for outstanding balances by at least $100 billion."

Paying down debt

Consumers who find themselves with growing credit card debt can take steps to reduce it. One of the most efficient steps is to transfer some or all of your high interest balances to a new credit card that provides an introductory period of 0% interest. That means 100% of your payment each month goes to pay down the balance.

If you have a large balance, one of the best cards for a transfer is the Chase Slate. It provides 15 months of interest-free payments and does not charge a balance transfer fee if you make the transfer within 60 days of activating the account.

If you are unable to transfer your balance to an interest-free card, make sure your payments each month are enough to make a real difference. Don't pay just the required minimum -- pay more. Look at your bill and determine the monthly finance charge. Pay that amount, plus as much as you can afford to pay against the balance.

Experts on health and weight loss have tried to convince people to stay away from sugary beverages for years. Now a recent study reveals that soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are no longer the top pick amongst Americans.

Beverage Marketing Corporation, a consulting and research company, has published a report that found bottled water to be the most drunk beverage among U.S. consumers. It states that consumers drank 12.8 billion gallons of bottled water in 2016, up 9% from 2015 and an average of 39.3 gallons per person over the year.

At the same time, soda consumption fell to 38.5 gallons per person in 2016, or roughly 12.6 billion gallons. While the change in preference has been gradual at times, the researchers say that the results of the study are surprising.

“Bottled water effectively reshaped the beverage marketplace. When Perrier first entered the country in the 1970s, few would have predicted the heights to which bottled water would eventually climb. Where once it would have been unimaginable to see Americans walking down the street carrying plastic bottles of water, or driving around with them in their cars’ cup holders, now that’s the norm," said Michael Bellas, chairman and CEO of Beverage Marketing, in a statement.

Of course, the announcement likely won’t make much of a difference to beverage companies. Bottled water still costs less than sugary beverages, on average, and many companies that produce sodas also manufacture bottled water. Three companies in particular make up nearly 50% of retail sales: Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo.

Consumers apparently would much rather buy their office supplies online. Office retailer Staples has not only emphasized online sales more in recent years, it's finding its brick-and-mortar stores are less profitable.

After reporting disappointing earnings late Thursday, Staples announced it would close 70 of its North American stores. It shuttered 48 locations last year.

But it isn't just a matter of consumers preferring to buy their printer toner from the Staples website. Consumers are increasingly turning to the competition.

Staples reported that total company comparable sales for the fourth quarter of 2016 fell 1% year-over-year. The company earned a profit in the fourth quarter, just not as much of one as Wall Street analysts expected.

Delivery business a bright spot

“Our fourth quarter results were right in-line with our expectations, and I’m increasingly confident that we have the right plan and the right team to transform Staples and get back to sustainable sales and earnings growth,” Shira Goodman, Staples’ CEO, said in a statement. “I am particularly proud of our ability to grow our delivery business by continuing to enhance our offering and satisfy our business customers.”

In fact, delivery was one of the few bright spots in the Staples quarterly results. The company has been promoting its online sales to both business and consumer customers. But it has plenty of competition there, including Amazon.com.

To bolster its defenses, Staples attempted to acquire rival Office Depot in late 2015, but was turned aside by federal regulators last year. In challenging the proposed merger, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asserted that a union of the two retailers would have allowed Staples to dominate the office supply market.

Staples had argued that there is plenty of competition from online retailers, and that it needed the merger to compete.

In retirement, you don't have to rise at the crack of dawn, fight traffic, and report to a job that stresses you out.

So you might think that retirement would present opportunities to improve your overall health. But researchers say that often isn't the case.

Writing in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, health researchers at West Virginia University attempted to compare the rate of living a healthy lifestyle among retired people to those who were still reporting to work each day.

The researchers at the West Virginia University School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine looked at whether retired late-middle-aged adults have a different level of healthy lifestyle and metabolic risk factors, including diet, exercise, smoking, weight, glucose levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol, when compared to adults of the same age who are still working.

Taking advantage of the free time?

"We know that full-time work keeps people busy and often unable to find the time for healthy eating and exercise,” said Dr. Dana King, who led the study. “We decided to investigate whether people who were retiring took advantage of their additional free time to lead a healthier lifestyle."

Retirement offers many opportunities to improve your health. You have more time to exercise and to plan a healthy meal menu. But the researchers found that to be the exception, not the rule.

They said chronic disease, the use of several medications, and a busier than expected schedule in retirement meant many people were not using their life change to improve their health.

In fact, the researchers concluded that retirement doesn't necessarily have a strong association with improvements in healthy lifestyle habits or other cardiovascular risk factors.

Unhealthy Boomers

It found that retired Baby Boomers more often than not are obese, have elevated blood pressure, and other health complications. They are no more likely than anyone else to be eating a healthy diet.

It's true that physical activity increased after retirement, but researchers say that, in and of itself, is not enough to make up for other unhealthy behaviors.

The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency says an announcement on fuel efficiency standards will be released "very soon" as the agency works to "reduce regulatory uncertainty."

Scott Pruitt also told CNBC that he thinks Congress should decide whether carbon dioxide is a harmful pollutant. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are an air pollutant that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act, but Pruitt said Congress has never signed off on the decision. 

"Nowhere in the continuum, nowhere in the equation, has Congress spoken. The legislative branch has not addressed this issue at all," he told CNBC, although the Clean Air Act was passed by Congress in 1963 and amended by Congress in 1970, 1977, and 1990.

It is widely expected that Pruitt will scrap tough fuel efficiency standards enacted during the Obama Administration, a decision consumer groups say would be a mistake.

Would help imports

The Consumer Federation of America issued a statement today warning that American auto manufacturers would be at risk of losing market share to imports if the fuel economy standards were weakened. 

“Each year the fleet increased by an average of 7.1 percent through 2015, which is truly remarkable,” said the CFA's Jack Gillis. "[M]ake no mistake: our domestic automakers have much to risk if they fail to use fuel saving technology available today in all their vehicles.”

Carmakers, like other industries, have been pushing hard for loosened regulations. Their argument may be buttressed by a new report that finds that U.S. cars and light trucks from the 2016 model year will be the first to fall short of fuel economy targets in more than a decade.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is forecasting that 2016 models will average 32.1 miles per gallon, below the target of 32.8, according to an Automotive News report. The agency forecasts another shortfall in model year 2017 of 31.8 miles per gallon compared to a projected target of 33.

Brick-and-mortar retail really is in trouble. Latest casualty: RadioShack, or more precisely its successor, General Wireless. It was formed to take over the RadioShack name and some of its assets after the original RadioShack filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

Now General Wireless, which was formed by Sprint Corp. and the former owners of the original RadioShack, has thrown in the towel and filed for bankruptcy. The business operated Sprint stores within RadioShack locations but just couldn't generate the foot traffic needed to keep the lights on.

The problem comes down to convenience. If you can order an HDMI cable from Amazon Prime and have it delivered to your door tomorrow (or even later today in much of the country), why would you get in your car, drive to an obscure strip mall, and pay a premium for the item, then drive back home in afternoon traffic?

Chances are you wouldn't, and therein lies the problem for brick-and-mortar stores. 

Inventory burden

Besides the problem of attracting custoners, there's the whole question of inventory, something not often considered by consumers, who understandably have no reason to care about it.

But take that most pedestrian of RadioShack items -- speaker wire. If you're moving your home theater speakers around, you may find yourself needing more wire. The neighborhood RadioShack store probably has a few 100-foot spools of wire, but it may well sell only two or three per month, meaning it has to finance the cost of a carton of spools over a year or two. 

The nearest Amazon warehouse, by contrast, has a lot more wire but it most likely ships it out as fast as it can restock it, cutting its inventory financing cost drastically.

This is known as turnover -- the amount of time an item sits moldering on a shelf running up finance charges. The supermarket business is very low-margin but it has high turnover -- you need milk and bread every few days. Speaker wire? Not so much.

So what it means for consumers is that there'll be more strip mall spaces opening up for yoga and nail salons. Oh, and also plan ahead next time you rearrange your home theater system since you'll need to order your speaker wire a day in advance.

The clocks on most smartphones automatically adjust to Daylight Saving Time (DST), but children’s internal clocks aren't always as quick to embrace the change.

When the times of the day that usually correspond to certain amounts of light are altered, so are the signals that tell a child’s body when it’s time to start and end the day. As a result, it can take children up to 10 days to fully reset their internal clock to Daylight Saving Time, according to the Pediatric Sleep Council.

In a new survey from the Better Sleep Council (BSC), 94% of parents said it takes two or more days to get their kids back into their regular sleep pattern. For 31% of parents, the adjustment takes six days or more.

So it’s no surprise, then, that more than one-quarter (28%) of all parents said they do not like putting their clock ahead one hour for DST. But parents can shorten the time it takes for their little one to adjust to the time change by preparing early.

Gradual changes 

Pediatric sleep expert Dr. Jodi Mindell says parents can avoid a bedtime meltdown on March 12 and a morning meltdown on March 13 by shifting bedtimes earlier by a few minutes every day leading up to the time change.

“If possible, making slower changes can be beneficial,” she says. “Start on Thursday night, shifting bedtime earlier by 15 minutes every day.  Or, start on Saturday night shifting 30 minutes earlier.”

The BSC echoes this advice, and adds that tacking on an extra step or two to your child’s bedtime routine can also be helpful. Reading a book together or having them take a warm bath or shower can help them relax before bed.

Operate on the new time

Additionally, parents should avoid letting kids eat heavy meals too close to bedtime since heavy meals can interfere with sleep quality. And once DST goes into effect, it’s crucial to operate on the adjusted time even if it means waking children up earlier than usual.

Mindell also offered a way for parents to use light to their advantage with the onset of Daylight Saving Time:

“Because children’s internal clocks are affected by light and dark, parents should be sure to turn on the lights and open the blinds to let in as much natural light as possible in the morning,” she said, “This signals to the child’s body that it’s time to start the day.”

When consumers consider social media sites like Facebook, they might think of status updates, photos, events, and several other features. However, there are a number of “business” aspects that might come to mind too.

Specifically, consumers might think of brands on Facebook and their use of advertising. Engaging with those brands through liking and sharing content is all a part of business strategy, but how much difference does a “like” make exactly? Perhaps not that much, according to researchers from Tulane University.

"When we think of Facebook, we think of it as a very social platform. Most companies think that those social interactions will lead to more customer loyalty and more profitable customers," said lead author Daniel Mochon. "That's not necessarily the case. Customers rarely post on a brand's page on their own and typically only see a fraction of a brand's Facebook content unless they are targeted with paid advertising"

"Likes" don't guarantee engagement

The researchers tested their assertions by measuring consumers’ engagement with a wellness program called Discovery Vitality. Participants were able to earn program points by taking part in healthful behaviors like exercising. With this model, the researchers set out to see if people would try to earn more points if they liked the program’s Facebook page.

Invites to like the page and take a survey were sent out to one group, while those who were not invited acted as the control group. After four months, the researchers found no difference between the amount of reward points each group earned, suggesting that simply “liking” the page didn’t make much of a difference.

However, in phase two of the experiment, Vitality paid Facebook to display two of its posts to members who liked the page per week. After two months, those who liked the page earned 8% more reward points than the control group.

Boosting content more effective

The researchers think the ads were effective because it boosted Vitality’s reach, ensuring that its content would reach participants’ timelines. They say that the findings provide some evidence for how companies may want to use social media in the future.

"To our knowledge this is the first causal demonstration of the effect of Facebook page liking on customer behavior -- specifically behavior that takes place offline. The results suggest that Facebook pages are most effective when they are used as a form of traditional advertising rather than as a platform for social interactions," said Janet Schwartz, assistant professor of marketing at Tulane.

The full study has been published in the Journal of Marketing Research.

Currently, many consumers turn to YouTube to learn how to do some kind of home improvement project. Now, Lowe’s is experimenting with technology to take that idea one step further.

The home improvement retailer is aiming to educate DIYers on the ins and outs of projects they've never done before with the help of an on-demand virtual reality skills clinic.

With Holoroom How To, consumers who aren’t feeling particularly confident in their ability to tackle a project on their own can see exactly how the project is done simply by strapping on a virtual reality headset.

Navigating each step of the task in virtual reality first could potentially save users from making costly mistakes or messes in the real world.

Training tool

With a virtual reality headset on and controller in hand, users are immersed in a DIY experience. If, for instance, a user had never tiled a shower before, the simulation would walk the user through how to mix the mortar and lay the pattern.

In addition to step-by-step instructions, the experience gives haptic feedback. Real world feelings, such as the vibration of a drill, can be felt through the controller.

The company says preliminary studies have proven the multi-sensory VR training tool to be an effective means of increasing learning retention, boosting customer confidence, and enhancing motivation to take on DIY projects.

Next steps

This isn’t the first time Lowe’s has utilized AR and VR technology to walk consumers through problems pertaining to home design and improvement.

Lowe’s first utilized augmented reality to help customers solve design-related challenges in 2014. Back in November, the retailer launched Lowe’s Vision, an augmented reality app that lets customers see how different home furnishings, fixtures, and flooring would look in their home.

"Our experience has shown that customers are embracing AR/VR as part of their home improvement journey, and now, we are using immersive VR to help our customers learn the required skills to complete challenging home improvement projects,” said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe's Innovation Labs, the company's disruptive innovation hub.

Holoroom How To is set to make its debut at select stores in Boston and Canada. From there, Lowe’s will evaluate customer response to the pilot experience to see how this technology can be used to provide empowering training opportunities to both customers and employees.

The job market appears to have shifted. The most recent numbers show employers are hiring more people, allowing job seekers to be a little more selective.

Glassdoor, an employment and recruiting website, has listed what it says are the best paying jobs right now. Not surprisingly, four of the top five are in the healthcare field.

Number one on the list is a physician, with 7,770 openings and a median base salary of $187,876. But unless you spent the last few years in medical school, you might have to strike that one off your list.

Number two is pharmacy manager. Glassdoor counts 2,370 openings in that category, with a base salary of $149,064.

Growing demand for patent attorneys

People must be busy inventing things because being a patent attorney comes in at number three on the list. There are only 525 openings but the starting pay is $139,272.

Fourth on the list is medical science liaison, with only 391 current openings but a median base salary of $132,842. In fifth place is pharmacist, with nearly 5,500 openings and a median base salary of $125,847.

All of these jobs, of course, not only require special skills but specialized education. Other high-paying jobs on the Glassdoor list include corporate controller, software engineering manager, R&D manager, and actuary. You can check out the complete list here.

Pay just one factor

"With nearly half the list comprised of jobs in the tech and healthcare industries, this report reinforces that higher salaries are found in America's fastest job-creating sectors, which require higher education and in-demand skill sets," said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist. "However, while pay is one of the leading factors job seekers consider when determining where to work, our research shows that salary isn't necessarily tied to long-term job satisfaction."

So let's say you have an extremely persuasive personality. As a kid, you convinced your parents to let you keep the dog that followed you home from school.

Employment sites CareerBuilder and Emsi have released 10 good jobs for people with a gift for persuasion. Sales manager, of course, is on the list, but so are some other jobs you might not expect.

They include operations managers, IT managers, financial managers -- actually, almost any type of management job since it requires exerting leadership.

Check out the entire list here.

Credit cards come and go and sometimes the terms change, so it's a good idea to keep up to date on the latest offerings.

This year, card comparison site CreditCards.com has declared two cards -- the Citi Diamond Preferred and the Chase Slate -- as the best balance transfer cards.

Cards that allow you to transfer a balance are useful when you are trying to pay down a large credit card debt. In nearly every case, a balance transfer credit card will give you a few months in which you pay no interest.

That means 100% of your payment during that time goes to pay off the balance. When your old card has an interest rate of 15% or higher, that makes a huge difference.

You have to consider the balance transfer fee

Citi earns points because it offers the longest period of 0% interest -- 21 months. But it also charges a balance transfer fee -- not unusual for balance transfer cards. That means the cost of transferring a balance to the Citi card will be either $5 or 3% of the transferred balance, whichever is greater.

That's not a deal-breaker if you are only transferring $1,000. The fee would be just $30. However, if you are transferring $10,000, the fee would be $300.

If you want to transfer a large balance, you should then consider the second card on the list, the Chase Slate. Its 0% introductory period isn't as long, but it's still a respectable 15 months. But the clincher is the balance transfer fee. There isn't one if you make the transfer within 60 days of opening the account.

A third option is the BankAmericard. It provides 18 months of interest-free payments. While it does charge a transfer fee, if you're still carrying a balance after the introductory period expires, the interest rate is 11.49%, which is low for a credit card.

Whole Foods Market, in response to Vulto Creamery’s recall of soft wash- rind raw milk cheeses, is recalling the products from nine stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New York.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recall includes Vulto Creamery Ouleout and Miranda soft wash-rind raw milk cheeses which were cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap with scale labels beginning with PLU codes 0200305 and 0200306 and "sell by" dates from 12/27/2016 to 03/28/2017.

The Ouleout products were sold at the following stores:

• 350 Grasmere Avenue, Fairfield, Conn.
• 115 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Mass.

The Miranda products were sold at the following stores:

• 170 Great Road, Bedford, Mass.
• 575 Worcester Road, Framingham, Mass.
• 647 Washington Street, Newton, Mass.
• 2 Somerset Street, Portland, Maine
• 1425 Central Avenue, Albany, N.Y.
• 250 7th Ave, New York, N.Y.
• 270 Greenwich Street, New York, N.Y.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products may bring their receipts to the store for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may call 607-222-3995 Monday-Friday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (ET) or by email at vultocreamery@gmail.com.