Current Events in October 2019

General Electric announced on Monday that it’s freezing pension plans for approximately 20,000 employees in an effort to reduce both its debt and its staggering pension deficit. 

Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp, who has been striving to put the company on more solid footing since stepping into the position a year ago, said the plan unveiled Monday will reduce the company’s pension deficit by up to $8 billion. 

The Boston-based company’s pension deficit ranks among the worst in corporate America, according to Bloomberg. Both cuts are expected to help lower the company’s net debt between $4 billion and $6 billion.

The company said 20,000 of its salaried employees will stop accruing new benefits starting in 2021. About 700 employees in a supplementary plan will also be affected. 

GE said it will contribute 3 percent of eligible compensation to a 401(k) plan and will provide matching contributions of 50 percent on as much as 8 percent of eligible compensation. Additionally, the company will be offering a limited time lump-sum payment option to about 100,000 eligible former employees who have not started their monthly U.S. GE Pension Plan payments. 

“Returning GE to a position of strength has required us to make several difficult decisions, and today’s decision to freeze the pension is no exception,” Kevin Cox, chief human resources officer at GE, said in a statement. 

“We carefully weighed market trends and our strategic priority to improve our financial position with the impact to our employees. We are committed to helping our employees through this transition.”

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Queensland found that women who experience menopause earlier in life -- before the age of 50 -- could be at an increased risk of developing heart disease. 

The findings could be especially significant for women who are already have an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Researcher Gita Mishra explained that experiencing early menopause greatly increased the likelihood for this health risk.

“Women under 40 who experience premature menopause were nearly twice as likely to have a non-fatal cardiovascular event before the age of 60,” said researcher Gita Mishra. “This is compared to women who reach menopause between the ages of 50 or 51, during what is considered the standard development period.” 

Understanding the risks

The researchers were able to analyze information from over 300,000 women across 15 different studies by using information from the InterLACE databank. They found that the majority of the women involved in the study went through menopause around age 50, but the risk for cardiovascular disease was highest for those who experienced menopause before then. 

While women aged 70 or older were at the lowest risk of developing heart disease, the researchers found that early menopause remained a risk factor for heart disease for those 60 and younger, with those who went through menopause the earliest being at the highest risk. 

According to Mishra, there are several lifestyle factors that can also play a role in the likelihood of women developing heart disease following early menopause, including “smoking, being overweight or obese, and having lower education levels.” 

The researchers hope that these findings lay the groundwork for doctors to better identify vulnerable patients as early as possible and get them the proper treatment. 

“Identifying women with early menopause offers a window of opportunity for their doctors to work with them to monitor and actively manage cardiovascular risk factors,” said researcher Dongshan Zhu. “Early clinical diagnosis will help to improve overall cardiovascular health in their postmenopausal years.” 

T-A-R-G-E-T M-O-U-S-E! 

As expected, Mickey Mouse and all his Disney chums have landed at Target stores nationwide.

On Monday, the recently formed partnership between The Walt Disney Company and Target Corporation officially launched the Disney store at Target in 25 select locations. The new pact also comes with a complementary online experience for consumers.

This is quite a pre-season gift for Target. The retail giant gets its hands on 450+ items overall, including more than 100 that previously could only be found at Disney’s own stores. Plus, Disney is giving the chain another 100 Disney exclusives tied to the forthcoming release of holiday movie releases like Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.

"We've brought the magic of Disney to Target, bringing together great merchandise amidst an experience that's truly immersive and unique," said Target’s Mark Tritton in a news release. "Guests will be able to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love in a meaningful way while accessing the latest and greatest Disney products, including items previously only available at Disney retail locations."

What Disney fans will see at Target

All the expected glitz and glitter worthy of a partnership like this will be right up front when consumers stroll into one of the Disney-Target stores. 

Commandeering an average 750 square feet per store, the Disney footprint will be hard to miss with its interactive displays and seating areas where families can watch classic Disney movie clips. There’s even a chance for shoppers to wear Mickey’s magic hat or get their inner Luke Skywalker on by posing with a life-size lightsaber.

And where are these stores? 

To maximize the promotion’s reach, the locations the companies have chosen are not necessarily smack dab in the middle of a metropolitan area. Instead, executives have targeted stores that serve as a cross-pollination of communities. One example of that is the Louisville and Southern Indiana markets; to cater to shoppers from both areas, the companies chose a location in Clarksdale that is easy for residents from both locations to get to. 

But with only 25 locations, some Disney fans are going to be left out of the in-store experience. However, Target and Disney have prepared for that by developing an online experience available on both the iOS and Android platforms that will allow shoppers to see available items for purchase. The only downside for online customers is that not all products will be available via the online site.

PayPal is distancing itself from Facebook’s digital currency project, withdrawing from an association of financial services companies appointed to oversee the new currency, called Libra.

PayPal had deep ties to the project since its former president, David Marcus, now heads up Libra’s operations for Facebook. PalPal said it still thinks Libra is a good idea, but it thinks it’s best to go in its own direction.

“PayPal has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations,” PayPal said in a statement.

Libra has come under intense regulatory scrutiny from the moment it was announced. In fact, Facebook itself is feeling some heat as some in Washington, in both political parties, have suggested the company should be broken up.

Policymakers’ concerns

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell has said Facebook’s digital currency project raises a number of concerns, including consumer privacy, money laundering, financial stability, and consumer protection.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif), who is chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, is on the record demanding that Facebook freeze its Libra development efforts.

"It appears that these products may lend themselves to an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intends to rival US monetary currency and the dollar,” Waters and other committee members wrote in a letter to Facebook in July. “This raises serious privacy, trading, national security and monetary policy concerns for not only Facebook's over 2 billion users, but also for investors, consumers and the global economy.” 

Libra Association

After announcing the launch of Libra in June, Facebook also announced the establishment of the Libra Association, made up of financial services companies, that would share responsibility for developing Libra. Other members include Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

According to CNBC, members of the House Financial Services Committee want to question Facebook’s senior executives in a hearing on the social media giant’s digital currency plans. The network reports lawmakers specifically want to hear from CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg.

It can be difficult for consumers to avoid larger, heavier meals when frequently out with their loved ones, and a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Birmingham found that there could be some science behind why that’s the case. 

The study revealed that consumers eat more when around friends or family because communities tend to place more of an emphasis on the joys of sharing food. However, that notion gets flipped when consumers dine alone. 

“We found strong evidence that people eat more food when dining with friends and family than when alone. However, this social facilitation effect on eating was not observed across studies which had looked at food intake amongst people who were not well acquainted.” explained researcher Dr. Helen Ruddock.

“People want to convey positive impressions to strangers. Selecting small portions may provide a means of doing so and this may be why the social facilitation of eating is less pronounced amongst groups of strangers.” 

Understanding eating habits

The researchers analyzed over 40 previous studies, all of which analyzed consumers’ eating habits and how they differ around different groups of people or when eating alone. 

“Findings from previous research suggest that we often choose what (and how much) to eat based on the type of impression that we want to convey about ourselves,” Dr. Ruddock. “Evidence suggests that this may be particularly pronounced for women eating with men they wish to impress and for people with obesity who wish to avoid being judged for overeating.” 

This most recent study proved both of those findings accurate, as the researchers found that women with obesity ate nearly 30 percent more when in the comfort of friends or family. The findings showed that consumers were also less likely to feel shame for eating more than they normally would when by themselves. Overall, the researchers discovered that being around loved ones led consumers to eat nearly 50 percent more than those who ate alone. 

Fighting cravings

Fighting unhealthy food cravings will only get harder as the holiday season approaches, but researchers have found that there are tangible ways for consumers to beat those urges. 

The effects of cutting out unhealthy food are significant. Researchers recommend that consumers shouldn’t try to reduce portion size; instead they recommend reducing the amount of fattening foods in their diets.

For consumers looking to stay on track, researchers have found that logging food intake, particularly on a smartphone app, is an effective way to not only eat healthier but also lose weight. 

“Not everyone has time for a high-intensity weight loss treatment,” said researcher Michele Lanpher Patel. “So it’s important to create alternative strategies that can accommodate these people. Digital health approaches have to fill this need.”

Researchers at cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab published a report this week detailing a Russian group’s attempts at taking a fingerprint of TLS-encrypted web traffic by modifying Chrome and Firefox web browsers.

The group, called Turla, is “believed to operate under the protection of the Russian government,” ZDNet notes. 

Kaspersky researchers found that the group could infect systems with a remote access trojan and, from there, install their own digital certificates to each host. This technique enables them to intercept TLS traffic from the host. 

Secondary method of monitoring targets

Kaspersky didn’t offer an explanation of why the hackers would do this. ZDNet noted that one possible motive might be that the group wanted to use the TLS fingerprint as a secondary traffic surveillance mechanism in case victims found and removed the trojan but didn't take the time to reinstall their browsers. Kaspersky’s researchers said they identified targets in Russia and Belarus.

“We registered two initial infection schemes: Reductor spreads by either infecting popular software distributions (Internet Downloader Manager, WinRAR, etc. and, for at least one victim, through a popular warez website over HTTP); or its decryptor/dropper is spread using COMpfun’s ability to download files on already infected hosts,” the company said. 

ZDNet added that this isn’t the first time Turla has modified a browser’s internal components.

“A January 2018 report from fellow cyber-security firm ESET revealed that Turla had compromised at least four ISPs before, in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet space, also with the purpose of tainting downloads and adding malware to legitimate files,” ZDNet reported.

“The group has previously installed a backdoored Firefox add-on in victims' browsers back in 2015, which it used to keep an eye on the user's web traffic,” the website added. “Patching Chrome and Firefox just to be able to track a victim's HTTPS traffic while they've been kicked off a workstations fits with their previous pattern of highly clever hacks and techniques.” 

Young people tend to change residences more than households made up of older consumers, but new research shows millennials are also moving more often than their older peers did when they were young.

A new data analysis by Zillow shows that 33.8 percent of people between 25 and 34-years-old had lived in their home for less than two years in 1960. In 2017, that percentage jumped to 45.3 percent.

That’s in line with previous research which showed that millennials are more willing to relocate to new cities if it means a better job opportunity and more affordable housing. Over the last decade, young people have moved to smaller metro areas like Columbia, S.C, Norfolk, Va., and Omaha Nebraska. 

As The Atlantic reported last month, millennials’ propensity to pack up and go is having a political effect. These younger, more liberal voters are leaving large metro areas in blue states and settling in smaller cities in states that, in the past at least, have typically voted Republican.

Shifting demographics

Younger adults have always lived in their homes for shorter tenures than older Americans as they start out in their careers and begin to settle into adult life. But Zillow researchers say the reasons for moving may be different now.

"Shifting demographic headwinds and evolving workplace norms have significantly altered the housing decisions of young adults today,” said Sarah Mikhitarian, senior economist at Zillow.  “Untethered from family and enticed by new job opportunities, young adults are more mobile today than they have been over the past nearly 60 years."  

The job market has also undergone a drastic change since 1960. Then, someone might get a job and stay in it, in the same location, for decades. Mkhitaryan says things are very different now.

"Rather than climbing a corporate ladder, many are choosing to hop from one role or function to the next, often requiring a move to a new location," she said.

Not going that far

That said, over half of young adults who decide to move out of their homes are not setting out for new horizons. According to Zillow, 53.5 percent are simply moving across town, often buying a larger home to accommodate a growing family or to be closer to work.

Today’s young adults are also more likely to be renters rather than homeowners, the result of massive student loan debt and the recent escalation of home prices.

Coborn's is recalling select ready-to-eat chicken salads that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The following items, produced between January 21, 2019, and September 24, 2019, are being recalled:

The recalled products were sold in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Western Wisconsin.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should discard or return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund. Consumers with questions may call (844) 414-7467 from 8:00am – 8:00 pm, Monday – Friday, and Saturdays & Sundays from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.

Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) is recalling 34 model year 2018-2019 Toyota 4Runners. Certain steering and suspension components may not have been tightened properly during installation.

Loose fasteners may cause a loss of vehicle control, or cause an accessory to detach from the vehicle and become a road hazard. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash or injury.

What to do

SET will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and re-tighten the steering and suspension fasteners as necessary free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin November 19, 2019.

Owners may contact SET customer service at (866) 405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET19B.

E.A. Sween Company is recalling numerous salad and sandwich products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The following products, which may have been sold in the Continental U.S., Hawaii and Guam through convenience stores and grocery and mass retail outlets, are being recalled:

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products may return them to the store where purchased for a full refund or exchange.

Consumers with questions may call (800) 328-8184 and select #5, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (CST).

A new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology suggests that bleach -- which many consumers routinely use to clean their homes -- could be increasing levels of harmful indoor air pollution.

Researchers from the University of Toronto conducted an experiment that tested how the particles known to be emitted into the air from bleach would react in a closed environment, like a home, in varying degrees of light. 

While bleach can emit dangerous chemicals on its own, when it interacts with limonene (a popular additive in household cleaners) the combination can lead to the creation of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). These particles can cause a slew of serious health concerns, not the least of which may be difficulty breathing. 

After introducing various compounds associated with bleach and cleaners into a closed room, the combination of the chemicals created poor health conditions when exposed to both light and darkness. When exposed to sunlight, the chemicals turned into SOAs, which the researchers knew from previous work are dangerous to consumers’ health. In the dark, the combination of chemicals only multiplied to create more volatile compounds in the air. 

This study mimicked what’s happening in consumers’ homes when they clean with bleach, and it shows just how dangerous it can be to be breathing in what’s left behind by the popular cleaning product. 

Risks of indoor air pollution

Earlier this year, researchers from Washington State University conducted a study that explored the hazards related to indoor air pollution, many of which consumers are unaware of. 

The study revealed that different times of day are worse for air pollutants. Morning was found to be the best time, whereas afternoon hours were the worst. Higher temperatures in the home were also found to make it easier for pollutants to stay in the air. 

The researchers encouraged consumers to prioritize ventilation in their homes, as doing so can greatly reduce the level of fumes and pollutants circulating in an enclosed space. 

“Exposure to these chemicals impacts people’s ability to think and learn,” said researcher Tom Jobson. “It’s important for people to be more cognizant of the risk -- opening a window is a good thing. We have to balance making more energy efficient homes with protecting our health and cognitive function.”

The robocall rollercoaster ride continues. The YouMail robocall statistics are in for September, and Americans were on the wrong end of 4.5 billion calls for the month. The numbers were down 5.2 percent from August and 13.5 percent from the all-time high in March of 5.2 billion robocalls. 

Consumers shouldn’t start celebrating yet, though. YouMail CEO Alex Quilici says that robocall numbers for all of 2019 are still at worrying levels.

"Happily, September had a meaningful but unsurprising decline in robocall volume, as it was a shorter month than August and included the Labor Day holiday weekend," the executive said. "While that's still good news, the tougher news is that we received over 43.3 billion calls in the first 9 months of the year, and we are still on pace to wind up with nearly 60 billion calls to U.S. consumers this year."

September's most frequent robocall scams

September’s dip was largely based on a reduction in "legal reminder” robocalls -- including 33.6 million tied to a Student Loan – Big Action Lawsuit scheme; scam calls generally stayed flat day-to-day. 

Here are the scam numbers by type for September:  

Consumers falling for Social Security scams

The Federal Trade Commission has been working to stop robocallers from fleecing consumers, but scams continue to be a huge problem. In fact, the Social Security scam is currently number one on the FTC’s robo chart, with consumers filing more than 70,000 reports specifically about that swindle in the first six months of 2019. Sadly, there were enough patsies among those complaints to make those cybercrooks $17 million richer.

Consumers who get a call with a message that is related to Social Security are advised by the FTC and Social Security Administration (SSA) to hang up and remember these important points:

• No one’s Social Security number is about to be suspended and never will be.

• The real Social Security Administration will never call to threaten anyone about their benefits.

• The “real” Social Security Administration will never tell anyone to send money via wire transfer, send cash, or put money on a gift card.

“Lots of government agencies have been impersonated,” said FTC official Emma Fletcher. “The scammer’s pitch is even more convincing when they fake the number on your caller ID so it shows the name or phone number of a real government agency. It’s illegal to fake the number on caller ID, but scammers know it helps convince people that the caller really is with the government.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered six e-cigarette companies to submit documents containing their sales and advertising data, suggesting the federal agency could be close to launching a probe into their marketing practices. 

The orders were sent to Juul, Reynolds Vapor Company, Fontem US, Logic Technology Development, Nu Mark, and NJOY. The agency said its request is intended to help it gather information about e-cigarette sales, advertising, and promotional practices in the U.S. for the years 2015 through 2018. 

“The goal is to assist the Commission, policy makers, and the public to better understand the rapidly growing e-cigarette market,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday. 

An FTC official said the agency is seeking “annual data on the sales and give-aways of e-cigarette products; information about the characteristics of the companies’ e-cigarette products, such as product flavors; annual amounts the companies spent on advertising and promoting e-cigarette products; and information about e-cigarette product placement, the websites and social media accounts used to advertise or sell e-cigarettes, affiliate programs, influencer marketing, and college campus programs.” 

Rise in vaping-related deaths

According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,080 people in the U.S. are now affected by vaping-related lung illnesses, with 18 people having died as a result of their symptoms.

Regulators are actively seeking more information on e-cigarettes in an effort to uncover a more specific cause of the illnesses. 

At this time, health authorities suspect a chemical present in many varieties of marijuana liquid vaping products may be the underlying cause of some of the lung illnesses. Most patients reported using a THC-containing product before becoming ill. However, no single vaping product or ingredient has yet been linked to all of the cases. 

Juul, which previously sold flavored products that tended to entice youth users, recently agreed to stop advertising its products in the U.S. The Trump administration said it’s moving toward a ban on all flavored e-cigarette products in the U.S. 

While investigations into the matter are ongoing, the CDC has advised consumers to avoid using e-cigarettes or vaping products. 

Google’s security researchers recently discovered an active “zero-day” Android vulnerability that was believed to have already been patched two years ago. 

Researchers at the company’s Project Zero team said the problem affects phones manufactured by Samsung (including the Galaxy S7, S8, and S9), as well as the Huawei P20, Pixel 1, and Pixel 2. 

The bug was marked as having been patched in December 2017, but apparently the fix didn’t translate to newer versions of the operating system. 

“We have evidence that this bug is being used in the wild,” Google’s security researchers said in a post. 

Kernel privilege escalation bug

The company publicly disclosed the details of the bug just seven days after uncovering it due to its severity. However, Google said the vulnerability requires the installation of a malicious application to compromise a device, which reduces the risk of an attacker getting control of a mobile device.

“This issue is rated as high severity on Android and by itself requires installation of a malicious application for potential exploitation,” wrote Tim Willis, a Project Zero member. “Any other vectors, such as via web browser, require chaining with an additional exploit.”

The company said it has notified Android partners and made a patch available on the Android Common Kernel.

"Pixel 3 and 3a devices are not vulnerable, while Pixel 1 and 2 devices will be receiving updates for this issue as part of the October update," Google’s security researchers added. Other devices affected are the Xioami Redmi 5A, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Xiaomi A1, Oppo A3 and the Moto Z3.

On Friday, a group of U.S. state officials plan to formally push back against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma over its effort to protect itself against thousands of lawsuits accusing it of fueling a widespread opioid epidemic.

Over the past two decades, opioid addiction has contributed to the deaths of around 400,000 Americans. Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, are accused of triggering and then profiting off the opioid epidemic through the marketing of their own products.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy protection in September in an effort to resolve a majority of the cases against it. However, the settlement was met by criticism from some state officials, including North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein who argued that the bankruptcy settlement lets the Sackler family off too easy.

“The Sackler family sucked billions of dollars out of Purdue and is now throwing the carcass of this drug company into bankruptcy,” Stein said in a statement. “This is a long-standing getaway plan. I will do everything in my power to hold the Sacklers legally accountable for their role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.”

States plan to fight back

Now, a coalition of state attorneys general are reportedly gearing up to object to Purdue’s request that a bankruptcy judge shield the company from upwards of 2,600 lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages, according to Reuters.

“Attorneys general from Massachusetts and New York have accused Purdue of trying to avoid accountability and trying to protect the Sacklers, who offered at least $3 billion toward the company’s proposed settlement of the widespread opioid litigation,” the publication said. 

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement that “far too many lives have been lost or devastated in Rhode Island as a result of the opioid crisis.” For this reason, he said his state will join others in fighting for litigation that effectively holds the company and its owners responsible for the crisis.

 “We are committed to continuing to aggressively pursue our claims against Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers,” Neronha said. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Academy of Neurology found that young adults who experience dips in their income could experience compromised brain health. 

The findings revealed that a hit to a person’s paycheck -- or multiple hits -- could lead to poorer memory and thinking skills, which researchers compared to what happens to most adults as they age. 

“Income volatility is at a record level since the 1980s and there is growing evidence that it may have pervasive effects on health, yet policies intending to smooth unpredictable income changes are being weakened in the United States and many other countries,” said researcher Leslie Grasset, PhD. 

“Our exploratory study followed participants in the United States through the recession in the late 2000s when many people experienced economic instability. Our results provide evidence that higher income volatility and more income drops during peak earning years are linked to unhealthy brain aging in middle age.” 

The effects on brain health

To understand how variations in income affected young adults’ brain health, the researchers analyzed over 3,200 participants, all between the ages of 23 and 35. 

Starting in 1990 and ending in 2010, the participants reported on their annual household income before taxes, which allowed the researchers to track the trajectory of their earnings over that time. During that period, the participants also completed memory and thinking tests, which were assessed for both accuracy and speed of completion. 

Additionally, around one-third of the participants in the study were chosen to receive MRI scans of their brains at the beginning and end of the study, which gave the researchers more data on how the brain was affected by changes to income. 

The study revealed that participants who experienced multiple drops in income were more likely to perform poorly on mental tasks -- either by not completing them correctly or by taking more time to do them. 

The researchers found that participants who were affected by multiple drops in income were performing around three percent worse than other participants in the study, which, according to Dr. Grasset, “is greater than what is normally seen due to one year in aging.” 

Dealing with financial uncertainty

A similar trend emerged among the participants who had their brain scanned. Those who experienced two or more drops in income experienced reduced connections between different parts of the brain when compared with those who saw no changes in their income over the same period. 

Dr. Grasset and her team believe that work can be done in this area to make periods of financial uncertainty more comfortable for consumers, especially where their health is concerned. 

“While our study does not prove that drops in income cause reduced brain health, it does reinforce the need for additional studies examining the role that social and financial factors play in brain aging,” said Dr. Grasset. “It is possible that enhancing the stability of income could play a beneficial role in brain health, and there are straightforward policy options to reduce income volatility, such as unemployment insurance and short-term wage insurance.” 

The strike against a major U.S. automaker continues but the United Auto Workers Union reports “significant progress” in its talks with Ford.

The union extended its contacts with Ford and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) when it decided to negotiate first with General Motors (GM). About 48,000 GM workers went on strike in mid-September asking for a pay raise, better job security, a bigger share of profits, and stronger guarantees for health care benefits.

While negotiations between the union and GM have not resulted in much, the union said this week that 18 out of 20 Ford subcommittees have reached tentative agreements or made significant progress. 

“We will continue to meet diligently on all outstanding subcommittee issues, said UAW vice president Roy Gamble, in a report to members. “Please understand that negotiations are very fluid and are constantly in a state of flux. Therefore, we are unable during the negotiation process to disclose items being negotiated in detail. What I can report for now is that UAW-Ford negotiations are progressing very well.”

As for Ford, the company said it wants to reach “a fair agreement with the UAW that allows the company to be more competitive so we can continue to preserve and protect good-paying manufacturing jobs.”

46,000 workers on strike

The walkout idled about 46,000 workers at more than 50 GM facilities in the U.S. The union said its members voted to walk out after it became apparent that the two sides were not getting anywhere. The union is seeking to make up some of the ground it lost when it made concessions to all the automakers in the wake of the financial crisis.

“We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most,” said UAW Vice President Terry Dittes. “Now we are standing together in unity and solidarity for our members, their families and the communities where we work and live.” 

The walkout hit GM just as it was tightening its belt, which involved closing some U.S. facilities and laying off workers. Last November, GM announced it was phasing out some of its sedans and transitioning to the automotive future, conceding that consumers are purchasing fewer cars and being more discerning about the vehicles they buy.

Despite a huge price spike in California, gasoline prices have remained relatively stable in the last week, recovering from a short-lived oil shock after Saudi Arabian oil fields were attacked last month.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average price of regular gas is $2.66 a gallon, roughly the same as a week ago. The price is only about nine cents a gallon higher than a month ago.

The average price of premium is $3.25 a gallon, up a penny since last Friday. The average price of diesel fuel is $3.01 a gallon, with no change in the last week.

The exceptions are in the Western states where lingering refinery issues have sent prices sharply higher. California motorists have seen the price of regular surge by an average of 31 cents a gallon in the last week.

Other western states have seen less severe price hikes. The average price of regular is up around 19 cents a gallon in Nevada over the last seven days.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says a number of refinery issues choked off supplies in California over the last couple of weeks, causing prices to spike. But DeHaan tells ConsumerAffairs that relief is on the way, with prices expected to peak over the weekend. Even so, he says Southern California is seeing its highest prices since 2015 and Northern California has its highest prices at the pump since 2014.

While the West is seeing higher-than-normal prices, states in the Southeast experienced a slight drop in gasoline prices, with the cheapest prices today found in Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

The states with the most expensive regular gas

These states currently have the highest prices for regular gas, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey:

• California ($4.15)

• Hawaii ($3.68)

• Nevada ($3.37)

• Washington ($3.26)

• Oregon ($3.14)

• Alaska ($2.97)

• Arizona ($2.92)

• Utah ($2.79)

• Illinois ($2.79)

• Pennsylvania ($2.76)

The states with the cheapest regular gas

The survey found these states currently have the lowest prices for regular gas:

• Louisiana ($2.29)

• Mississippi ($2.30)

• South Carolina ($2.30)

• Arkansas ($2.32)

• Alabama ($2.32)

• Texas ($2.33)

• Virginia ($2.34)

• Missouri ($2.34)

• Tennessee ($2.36)

• Oklahoma ($2.37)

The economy added 136,000 jobs in September, flying in the face of recent data which suggests that the U.S. is sliding into a recession.

The Labor Department reports that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in September, the lowest level in 50 years. August employment, which was below expectations when it was reported last month, was revised moderately higher.

All in all, the U.S. job market appears to be holding its own in the face of declining manufacturing and heightened concerns around trade issues that have raised the possibility of a recession in the months ahead. In September, at least, the jobs numbers weren’t showing it.

As usual, health care and professional and business services led the way in creating new jobs in September despite total private sector employment trending lower for the month. The numbers were offset by an increase in government hiring.

Here’s who’s hiring

The health care industry added 39,000 jobs last month, pretty much in line with its average monthly gain over the last 12 months. Most of the openings occurred at doctors’ offices and clinics.

Jobs in professional and business services increased by 34,000 in September, close to its monthly average of 35,000 so far this year. However, that’s down from the 47,000 monthly average throughout 2018.

The retail sector continues to lose jobs. Retail jobs decreased by 11,000 during the month, with apparel retailers leading the way. Since peaking in January 2017, retail trade has lost 197,000 jobs.

The government hired more people last month. Federal hiring for the 2020 Census contributed only 1,000 jobs, but total hiring was up by 22,000. The government has added 147,000 jobs over the past 12 months, mostly in local government.

There wasn’t much of an increase in workers’ pay last month. The government reports average hourly earnings came in at $28.09, a penny less than in August, which recorded a sharp gain over July.

For those who are unemployed, the number of people who lost jobs and people who completed temporary jobs fell by 304,000 to 2.6 million in September. The number of people joining the workforce for the first time rose by 103,000.