Current Events in July 2018

Facebook’s stocks dropped more than 20 percent in the wake of a disappointing earnings report. In a matter of hours, the company lost more than $120 billion in market value during after-hours trading on Wednesday.

The company’s second quarter earnings report missed analyst expectations on revenue by about $70 million and showed slowing user growth. The number of global daily active users was 1.47 billion, while market analysts had estimated 1.49 billion.

In a conference call to discuss earnings, Facebook’s top executives warned that revenue growth rates will decline by “high single digit” percentages in the second half of the year. Privacy issues have taken a toll on the company, the report showed.

“The second-quarter results were the first sign that a new European privacy law and a succession of privacy scandals involving Cambridge Analytica and other app developers have bit into Facebook’s business,” Reuters reported.

“Facebook had cautioned investors to expect a big jump in second-quarter costs because of efforts to address concerns about poor handling of users’ privacy and to better monitor what users post. Total expenses in the second quarter surged to $7.4 billion, up 50 percent compared with a year ago.”

Trend expected to continue

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said profits will likely continue to suffer because the company plans to spend more on security. The company is still feeling the impact of the Cambridge Analytica data sharing scandal, “fake news,” and a string of data leaks.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to invest heavily in security and privacy because we have a responsibility to keep people safe,” Zuckerberg said on the call with investors.

Chief financial officer, David Wehner, said revenue growth would substantially decelerate in the coming quarters, in part because Facebook is making changes to give people more control over their privacy settings. Changes have included giving users the ability to limit the kinds of ads they see, which will impact revenue growth.

Facebook’s second quarter financial results drove Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune down by more than $16 billion. Still, Zuckerberg focused on the positives in a follow-up statement posted on Facebook.

“Our community now has more than 2.5 billion people using at least one of our apps each month,” he wrote.

“This quarter, our systems identified and removed thousands of fake accounts, pages, and groups before the Mexican elections. In addition to keeping people safe, we also have a responsibility to keep building services for people to connect in meaningful new ways.”

"We've seen inspiring fundraising campaigns to help reunite families. We still have a lot of work to do, but we hope these improvements make our services better for everyone.”

The Center for Auto Safety, partnering with automotive expert Jack Gillis, has published multiple years of used car ratings in its car-buying guide, The Car Book.

In addition to in-depth ratings on the complete line-up of 2018 vehicles, the publication offers consumers over 1,000 used car ratings going back five years.

“While buying a used car used to mean buying someone else’s problems, thanks to improved quality, better reliability and millions of leased vehicles hitting the market every year, there are plenty of good choices — if you know what to look for,” Gillis said.

The secret, of course, is knowing the best make and model to purchase. And now, it's no longer a secret. Here are some of the top picks, with cars ranked for value, safety, and reliability.

Top picks

• Audi A6 -- 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017

• BMW 3 Series -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Honda Civic -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Honda CRV -- 2015, 2016, 2017

• Lexus ES -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Subaru Crosstrek -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Toyota Avalon -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Toyota Camry -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Toyota Prius V -- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Other picks include:

• Acura MDX -- 2013

• Cadillac XTS -- 2013, 2015, 2016

• Subaru Outback -- 2015, 2016, 2017

• Subaru Legacy -- 2014, 2015, 2016

• Volvo S60 -- 2015, 2016, 2017

75 percent of consumers buy a used car

Gillis notes that new cars tend to get most of the attention when it comes to providing consumer information. However, 75 percent of consumers purchase used cars.

“For 38 years my goal with The Car Book has been to provide everything consumers need to make an informed, safe and reliable vehicle purchase,” said Gillis. “The good news, buying used is now a whole lot easier. There are plenty of safe, high quality, money saving used cars out there — if you know what to look for.”

To get the best deal, Gillis suggests consumers do plenty of research with resources like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds to determine the vehicle's value. Cars have a wholesale and a retail value; the range between the two is the bargaining range.

While many consumers are uncomfortable haggling over the price of a car, Gillis says it's not that unpleasant if you follow this formula: offer 20 percent below the price you're willing to pay.

The dealer will likely reject that and make a counter offer. At that point, split the difference.

Southwest airlines is still feeling the financial impact of a deadly accident that happened back in April.

The Dallas-based carrier reported a strong second-quarter profit, but it revealed that the accident that claimed the life of passenger Jennifer Riordan cost the airline $100 million worth of business.

Debris from a failed engine on Flight 1380 from New York to Dallas partially blew out a window on the plane, pulling Riordan -- a mother of two -- through the opening. Several passengers pulled her back in, but she died from her injuries at the hospital later.

"I am especially proud of the heroic efforts of our people to address and overcome the challenges resulting from the accident," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement.

The airline pulled advertising in the wake of the April 17 accident and said at the time that it was bracing for a financial impact on bookings as a result of the incident.

Kelly said he expects the financial repercussions of the fatal accident to ease up in the third quarter. Revenue for each seat flown is poised to increase as much as 1 percent in the next three months. It had tumbled by 3 percent following the incident.

"We are encouraged by the solid rebound in demand," Kelly said in the statement.

Southwest shares have fallen 20 percent this year.

Whatever you do on Twitter, don’t change your display name to “Elon Musk.”

Mr. Musk has enough on his plate to worry about, but now Twitter is being besieged by Musk-looking dummy accounts with identical display names and similar-sounding handles popping up in tweets.

However, the dummy accounts aren’t Musk devotees. They’re cryptocurrency scammers lying in wait and offering giveaways of crypto money such as Ethereum.

Of course, there’s the old if-it-sounds-too-good-to-be-true caveat: for a consumer to get their free crypto coins, all they have to do is send a small amount of their own cryptocurrency to a specific crypto wallet which registers them as a user. The end game for the scammer is to create a field day for themselves by adding up all those trivial amounts into a nice bounty.

The difficult part of the equation for Twitter -- or for that fact, any social media platform -- is that a user can call themselves anything they want in a profile or user name. ConsumerAffairs surveyed Musk’s situation on TwitterAudit and found he has 21,366,594 real followers on Twitter and 844,003 fake followers.

Twitter’s modus operandi for dealing with the Musk counterfeiters is to automatically lock any unsubstantiated accounts that have “Elon Musk” in their Twitter handle.

Those crossing that line are hit with a message saying “Your account has been locked” because of “unusual behavior,” then directs them to a set of hoops they’ll have to jump through to verify who they really are.

“As part of our continuing efforts to combat spam and malicious activity on our service, we’re testing new measures to challenge accounts that use terms commonly associated with spam campaigns. We are continually refining these detections based on changes in spammy activity,” a Twitter spokesperson told The Verge.

How does this affect the consumer?

Twitter is on a rampage to shut down accounts it considers suspicious, and its efforts in this situation, combined with the platform’s recent ban on cryptocurrency ads, is a positive turn for consumers.

In its march to rid itself of bad actors, the social media platform will be tightening things up on user names and taking its fight against abuse and automated accounts a step further.

Assuming you’re not a cryptocurrency scam artist, you should be ok. However, you should be prepared to validate who you are. At the end of the day, that’s a small step that should create a better experience and less cluttered Twittersphere for all.

If you've started your first job and moved into your first apartment, chances are you'll shop for renters insurance.

But what if you're still in college and living in a dormitory? College Parents of America, which offers a number of college-related insurance products, suggests renters insurance should be on most college students' back-to-school shopping list.

The group cites recent data which shows the number of fires that occurred in on-campus student housing facilities was up 6.7 percent in 2016, from 1,916 in 2015.

Renters insurance also covers break-ins and thefts, something the group says is occurring with greater frequency on campus. It says the number of reported criminal offenses on campus increased by almost 3 percent in 2016.

At the same time, the typical college student now has more valuable belongings than in the past, including computers, TV sets, and bicycles.

Disruptive events

"We recommend families consider renters insurance because college students and their parents are often caught unprepared, and these unexpected incidents can also disrupt a students' education," said Bob Soza, President of College Parents of America: "In fact, a majority of state insurance commissioners recommend college students consider renters’ insurance.”

According to ConsumerAffairs' Insurance Contributing Editor Matthew Brodsky, renters are often exposed because a landlord's insurance will not cover their loss. He says renters' policies are usually very affordable, in comparison to homeowner insurance.

Nearly every major insurance company offers renters insurance coverage. You'll find ConsumerAffairs reviews of top renters' insurance policies here.

Especially important for off-campus housing

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recommends renters insurance for college students, but it may be most important for those living off campus.

"Even if a student is a dependent under his or her parent's insurance, the student's personal property, in many cases, is not covered if the student lives off campus," the group advises. "Parents should check their policy or contact their insurance agent to see if renters insurance is right for their son or daughter who is away at school."

If a student is living in a dorm, the college may provide some coverage, but it will vary from institution to institution. Also, if a college student is under 26 years old, enrolled in classes, and living in on-campus housing, the student may be covered under his or her parents’ homeowners or renters insurance policy.

President Trump has taken to Twitter to voice is displeasure with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for voting to block the merger of two media companies, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media.

Sinclair, a politically conservative media company, has generally been more sympathetic to the White House in its coverage than many other media outlets.

"So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn't approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune," the president said in his tweet. "This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People. Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast gets approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair. Disgraceful!"

Of course, a presidential tweet does not carry the force of law. The FCC action will stand, unless Chairman Ajit Pai, a Trump appointee, decides to bring it up again.

Unanimous decision

As we noted in our coverage last week, the vote of the FCC commissioners -- Republican and Democrat -- was unanimous in denying the merger. But politics apparently played little or no role in the decision. Democrats and Republicans on the commission were united in their concerns about the structure of the acquisition.

Pai said Sinclair's plans for divested stations would violate the law and recommended a “hearing designation order” (HDO) which would require Sinclair to appear before an administrative law judge and explain its offenses, a move that could kill the deal completely.

"When the FCC confronts disputed issues like these, the Communications Act does not allow it to approve a transaction,” Pai said last week. “Instead, the law requires the FCC to designate the transaction for a hearing in order to get to the bottom of those disputed issues.”

Sinclair sought to add Tribune's 42 TV stations to its group, raising its total ownership to 215 stations. In their application to the FCC, the combined companies said the new arrangement would reach 72 percent of U.S. television households and would own and operate the largest number of broadcast television stations of any station group.

Before broadcast ownership rules were changed, beginning in 1981, companies could own and operate only seven TV stations and none of them could be in the same or overlapping markets.

Alphabet’s Waymo is teaming up with five companies to expand consumer access to its fleet of self-driving vehicles, the company announced on Wednesday.

Google’s self-driving car arm will be partnering with Walmart, Autonation, Avis, DDR Corp, and Element Hotel. Waymo said that a pilot program with Walmart will pick up customers and drive them to and from stores to pick up their groceries.

For now, the service is only available in the Phoenix area, but Waymo says it plans to expand the service to other cities “down the road.”

“We’ve tailored our partnerships to meet the top rider needs,” Waymo said in a blog post. “While these are Metro Phoenix-specific partnerships today, these businesses are national and what we learn from these programs will give us a network of partners when we launch in new cities down the road.”

Customers in Phoenix who order groceries on Walmart.com will receive savings or deals on their orders, which will be put together at the store.

"The purpose of all of this: to learn," Tom Ward, vice president of e-commerce operations at Walmart, said in a statement. "While giving customers a unique experience with amazing technology, we're learning how we can make Walmart online grocery pickup even more convenient."

Transportation services

As part of its partnership with AutoNation, Waymo will offer rides to customers having vehicles serviced at AutoNation dealerships. At Avis, Waymo vehicles will drop off and pick up rental car customers at two locations in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. Waymo will also offer its self-driving cars to customers who do business with DDR Corp. and Element Hotel.

Waymo’s pilot program in Phoenix will kick off later this week, while the other ride offers will begin over the course of the next several weeks.

News of Waymo’s new partnerships comes the same week that Amazon expanded the availability of its free two-hour grocery delivery service, Prime Now.

Walmart made another effort to compete with Amazon when it acquired Jet.com in 2016. For the service, Jet uses Parcel -- a last-mile delivery service that Walmart bought last year at an undisclosed price -- to deliver groceries to consumers’ homes.

General Motors is recalling 22,043 model year 2016-2018 Cadillac CT6s.

The inboard child seat anchorage bars may have had excess structural adhesive applied during assembly, which can interfere with the installation of a child seat.

If the child seat cannot be attached correctly to the anchorage bar, there is an increased the risk of injury.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, remove any excess adhesive, and apply anti-corrosion primer to the inboard child seat anchorage bars, free of charge.

The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 18228.

BMW of North America is recalling 43 model year 2018 BMW X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 xDrive35d, and X6 sDrive35i vehicles.

The pivot bolt on the front lower-left control arm may not have been properly hardened, which may cause the control arm to break.

If the lower control arm breaks, vehicle handling and control can be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the lower-left control arms and replace if necessary, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin August 20, 2018.

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

Pepperidge Farm is recalling four varieties of Goldfish crackers that may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported.

The following products, distributed throughout the U.S., are being recalled:

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not eat them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (800) 679-1791, Monday – Friday, 9AM – 7PM (EST), or online at www.pepperidgefarm.com/GoldfishUpdate.

Apple is in serious damage control over the new MacBook Pros that the company released last week -- the models the company pitched as "70 percent faster" and "ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing."

As reviewers put the new machines to the test, one critic found an issue that caused the machines to unduly throttle when in those "advanced" situations like exporting video.

YouTube reviewer Dave Lee discovered that the new MacBook overheats when it’s operating at full speed for a certain period of time. According to Lee, performing a video export in Adobe Premiere took longer on a new MacBook equipped with the latest Intel CPU than it did on a 2017 MacBook using an older version of Intel.

"Power throttling and thermal throttling isn’t anything new -- we’ve seen them in MacBooks for years," Lee said. "We’ve seen it in lots of devices, including Windows, but this degree of thermal throttling is not acceptable."

Once Lee uncovered the problem, other reviewers and testers put the new MacBook through its paces and many replicated the throttling problem.

To Apple’s credit, it didn’t sit still when it heard about the problem. On Tuesday, the company released an update (macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update for MacBook Pro) for its system software, one that the company hopes will address the bug once and for all.

An Apple spokesperson told CNET that a missing digital key which affects the laptop's thermal management systems was to blame for the issue.

So, buy or hold off?

While the issue raises concerns, it doesn’t appear to be something a typical user would encounter.

John Poole, Founder of Primate Labs, put the new MacBook through a "stress test" and offered his recommendation for the device. "If your work doesn’t involve long-running tasks that are CPU- and GPU-intensive (such as Premiere) then the new MacBook Pro should provide a considerable increase in performance," he said.

There don’t seem to be any other issues lurking for the new MacBooks. Apple went to great lengths to make sure the last bugaboos -- which included keyboard and battery issues -- were taken care of in the new models.

While Apple offered gratis fixes for those issues, getting a free repair isn’t a given. As most anything related to technology is wont to do, consumers are wise to consider extended warranties, especially if they plan on holding onto a unit for more than three years.

Heat waves aren’t just uncomfortable or inconvenient, as anyone living through one likely knows.

Extremely hot temperatures -- which have reached record-breaking levels across four different continents this summer -- can make life feel miserable, with normally easy tasks suddenly becoming exhausting or even dangerous.  

That miserable feeling, it turns out, is not uncommon. In fact, a new study suggests that extreme heat may have a damaging effect on the human psyche and contribute to increased suicide risk.

Researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley analyzed suicide statistics and weather conditions over a forty-year period in regions in Mexico and the United States. According to their findings, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, people are more likely to commit suicide in hotter months.

The study claims that every increase in temperature by 1 degree Celsius correlates with a .68 percent increase in suicides.

“We find a very consistent relationship between temperature increases and increases in suicide risk,” lead author Marshall Burke said.

Connecting heat and depression

The exact mechanism for how heat could contribute to suicide cases was not examined in this recent paper. But it’s not hard to find evidence that extremely hot temperatures can be damaging to a person’s mental health.

As a secondary issue, the researchers also examined social media postings alongside weather patterns. They found that people were more likely to use “depressive” language, such as literally complaining that the weather made them feel “suicidal,” during hotter months.

In addition, some anecdotal evidence suggests that people who normally exercise outside, a natural antidepressant, neglect their workout routines in brutal temperatures.

In interviews, the researchers hypothesized that the heat could be causing neurological injuries that affect how people process their emotions. In fact, previous research has already found a clear link between violent crime and extreme heat.

Heating up

Suicide is one of the leading causes of early death on the planet, and while researchers caution that heat alone is not the only culprit, they say it certainly won't help end the epidemic.

Climate scientists say that the planet could warm 2.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2050 if industrialized nations and corporations do not take drastic measures to cut back on greenhouse gas pollution.

Such warming patterns could eventually increase America's suicide rate by 1.4 percent and Mexico’s by 2.3 percent, according to the study’s findings.

Wealthy people with air-conditioned homes and poor people who labor outside may be equally vulnerable to the mental health effects of heat. “Income differences within countries do not mediate the temperature–suicide relationship,” the study authors say.

Public health workers have previously regarded as heat-related injuries as preventable, though people can still take steps to improve their mental and physical health in the heat.

Doctors advise people to avoid alcohol and caffeine during heat waves because they are diuretics. People should also eat less because large meals maintain heat in the body.

In addition to its dehydrating qualities, heavy alcohol use also a risk factor for suicide, according to mental health professionals.

The women who stepped into Jason Gargac's Chevy had no idea that strangers were publicly rating their appearance from behind the comfort of a computer screen.

Gargac, an aspiring police officer in St. Louis, said he initially took a job driving for Uber to make ends meet. But not long after, he became a television host of sorts.

On Twitch, a live streaming platform, Gargac played to the camera between rides, thanking people for tuning in and sharing his own critiques of his passengers’ looks. The passengers, on the other hand, appeared to have no idea that they were being recorded as they stepped into his car and began talking.

In the approximately 700 rides that Gargac filmed, his passengers often embarrassed themselves -- or worse. The passengers would reveal their last names, addresses, crushes, family problems, and gripes with bosses, all while strangers mocked them online.

Uber and Lyft eventually cut ties with driver

Uber and Lyft initially downplayed the news that one of their drivers was making entertainment out of peoples lower moments, a discovery that was revealed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.

Gargac admitted to the newspaper that he purposely worked weekend nights because passengers were more likely to be intoxicated then.

Passengers who discovered that they had been filmed and complained to Uber about it said they were only offered a $5 credit and a promise to not be paired with Gargac again.

Both companies initially told the Post-Dispatch that Gargac was not breaking any laws because Missouri is a one-party consent state when it comes to recordings.

But after the local newspaper published an investigative report about Gargac’s livestream channel this past weekend, both companies changed course and said that they had cut ties with him completely.

Gargac, whom the Post reported did not want his own last name printed in their newspaper, was also kicked off Twitch. Until his channel went offline, it had amassed over four thousand followers, a figure that made Gargac feel “forever grateful,” according to a Tweet he sent out to his fans in June.

Meanwhile, passengers interviewed by the paper said they they felt deeply violated.

Recordings all too common

Ethics aside, secret recordings in Uber and Lyft cars are legally murky territory because it’s unclear whether they count as a private space, experts say.

But common sense dictates that passengers and drivers alike should expect to be filmed, as many Uber and Lyft users film rides for their own protection.

Still, drivers typically don’t air the footage unless the passengers become violent, as the infamous Miami doctor Anjali Ramkissoon did two years ago. Nearly three million people reveled in footage showing Ramkissoon attempting to hit her Uber driver and throw his possessions out of the window.

The footage elevated Ramkissoon, a neurologist, to the status of internet celebrity that the public loved to hate. Ramkissoon was fired shortly after the incident and said that she had to change her cell phone number because strangers would not stop calling to yell at her.

Drivers and passengers have also been captured engaging in sex acts in the car, using racist language, or simply behaving rudely. Uber’s own former CEO Travis Kalanick even proved that he wasn’t immune to the trap.

Last year, an Uber driver who realized he was transporting the company’s then-CEO confronted Kalanick about low wages and other problems that Uber drivers face. Kalanick dismissed the concerns as people not taking responsibility “for their own shit.”

Like other passengers caught in embarrassing moments, Kalanick later said he was ashamed of his behavior.

While summer heat waves continue to roll in, consumers who want to enjoy the nice weather will likely be going through many tubes of sunscreen to protect against sun exposure. However, applying sunscreen at commonly used levels may do less than previously thought.

In a recent study, researchers from King’s College London found that the typical application of sunscreen provides only 40 percent of the protection that consumers might expect. The findings indicate that consumers should be more generous with their sunscreen application and use higher SPF products to block the sun’s harmful rays.

“There is no dispute that sunscreen provides important protection against the cancer-causing impact of the sun’s ultraviolet rays,” said professor Antony Young, one of the report’s authors. “However, what this research shows is that the way sunscreen is applied plays an important role in determining how effective it is.”

Apply more generously and use higher SPFs

The researchers came to their conclusions after conducting a cohort study comprised of 16 fair-skinned individuals. The participants were divided into two groups of three women and five men each, with one group experiencing a single exposure to UV light and the other being exposed for five consecutive days. Each group applied varying levels of sunscreen to test its effectiveness.

The findings revealed that participants who were exposed to more UV light suffered considerable DNA damage to areas of their skin that were not protected by sunscreen. The damage was reduced slightly when sunscreen was applied at recommended levels of thickness over the skin (0.75 mg/cm2). However, the damage was reduced significantly – even at higher UV levels -- when application was increased to thickness levels of 2 mg/cm2.

This finding suggests that consumers would do well to go beyond manufacturers’ recommendations when it comes to sunscreen application. The researchers say that using products that have higher SPF levels can further increase protection from the sun.

“Given that most people don’t use sunscreens as tested by manufacturers, it’s better for people to use a much higher SPF than they think is necessary,” said Young.

Use multiple methods of protection

Nina Goad, a member of the British Association of Dermatologists, confirmed that using higher SPF sunscreen products will reduce damage caused by sun exposure. However, she says that consumers shouldn’t rely on sunscreens as their sole method of protection.

“This research demonstrates why it’s so important to choose an SPF of 30 or more. In theory, an SPF of 15 should be sufficient, but we know that in real-world situations, we need the additional protection offered by a higher SPF,” she said.

“It also shows why we shouldn’t rely on sunscreen alone for sun protection, but we should also use clothing and shade. An extra consideration is that when we apply sunscreen, we are prone to missing patches of skin, as well as applying it too thinly.”

The full study has been published in the journal Acta Dermato Venereologica.

Consumers will soon be able to purchase items on eBay using a payment method other than PayPal. On Tuesday, the online retailer announced that it will soon accept Apple Pay as a form of payment from buyers.

Participating retailers will start accepting Apple Pay beginning in early fall, with the service slated for a larger scale rollout after that.

“Apple Pay is one of the most ubiquitous forms of payments and provides users with an easy, fast and secure way to pay,” Steve Fisher, senior vice president of payments at eBay, said in a statement. “Offering Apple Pay as a form of payment on eBay is the first step in providing more choice and flexibility in payment options to our tens of millions of buyers.”

New payment options

The online retailer has said managing the end-to-end payments flow on its platform is a “key initiative” for the company. In its announcement, the company hinted that additional announcements may be on the horizon as it continues to explore new payment systems.

Tuesday's announcement referenced a "payment initiative" that will continue into 2021.

"As we expand our new payments experience over the coming months, we look forward to offering our global customers many other forms of payments on our platform,” Fisher said.

eBay originally bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion, but it eventually announced in 2015 that it would be separating from the digital payments company.

When in place, Apple Pay will be an option for users of the eBay mobile app and the Safari web browser on desktop. Apple and iPhone users will be able to use Face ID, Touch ID (on iOS or macOS), and even an Apple Watch to authenticate payments through Apple Pay.

The service will initially be extended to a small group of Marketplace customers. The online retailer says it plans to add more customers -- and more payment options -- in the near future.

The news just keeps getting worse for your local cable company.

A new report from eMarketer shows consumers have stepped up their pace of “cord-cutting” by cancelling pay TV subscriptions and using streaming services instead.

The report projects the number of adults who have cancelled a cable or satellite TV service and will continue without it will rise 32.8 percent this year, to a total of 33 million.

A year ago, the number of cord-cutters was expected to grow by only 22 percent. The new forecast leaves pay TV services with about 186.7 million subscribers this year, down 3.8 percent from 2017.

Pay TV-OTT partnerships

To stop the hemorrhaging, Christopher Bendtsen, eMarketer's senior forecasting analyst, says most pay TV providers found ways to integrate the most popular over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, Netflix, into their systems.

“These partnerships are still in the early stages, so we don’t foresee them having a significant impact reducing churn this year,” Bendtsen said. “With more pay TV and OTT partnerships expected in the future, combined with other strategies, providers could eventually slow—but not stop—the losses.”

Meanwhile, the eMarketer analysis shows OTT streaming services are growing just as fast as pay TV is losing customers. It says viewership increases for YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are being fueled by increases in original video content.

Increasingly, OTT services have found ways to provide live TV channels, so that consumers can pair a couple of these streaming services together and have all the TV they want to watch, at much less cost than subscribing to cable.

For example, while the typical mid-tier pay TV package is normally around $100 a month or more, OTT subscriptions are typically between $10 and $15 a month. A consumer subscribing to two or three services can put together a customized viewing package at a huge savings – if they cut the cord.

Losing track of subscription costs

But consumers who continue to subscribe to pay TV, while adding OTT subscriptions to supplement their viewing choices, are adding to their monthly budget. A new report suggests many consumers are blissfully unaware of how much extra they are spending.

Researchers at Waterstone, a management consulting firm, asked consumers to estimate how much they spend each month on subscription services, including OTT video streaming services like Netflix.

They found the average consumer underestimates the total costs of monthly subscriptions by 197 percent.

“Clearly, most Americans are unaware of how much they spend on subscription services,” the authors write. “When pressed for a quick answer, they dramatically underestimate the amount.”

Since so many industries have moved to a subscription business model, the report concludes it makes it harder for consumers to keep track of their subscription costs, which tend to be small amounts but, added together, take a big bite out of the typical household budget