Current Events in January 2020

We’re only days into the new year, but Boeing’s already wishing 2020 would go away.

While the aircraft manufacturer thought it was finally out of the woods with all the problems it’s faced with its 737 Max, new issues with the jet have been raised.

Before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would allow Boeing to put the Max back in the air, it asked the company to conduct a tooth-and-comb audit to make sure that it had sufficiently gone over the finer details of how long it could take a pilot behind the wheel of a Max to respond to emergencies, according to a senior engineer at Boeing as well as other people familiar with the situation.

Uncovered in Boeing’s latest inspection was a possible issue with the wiring that helps control the tail of the aircraft -- one that could cause a short-circuit and lead to a crash if pilots didn’t respond to the problem correctly and in time. 

The determining factor here is whether the scenario is likely and, if it is, what Boeing would have to do to keep it from happening in real life. If all it has to do is separate the wires, Boeing says that’s a relatively easy task, and it appeared ready to do that on all the hundreds of 737 Max already built.

Boeing can’t afford to get it wrong… again

Since 346 people died in 737 Max crashes, Boeing has bled money profusely -- to the tune of billions per day. Any further detours would certainly add more financial misery, not to mention loss of consumer trust and raised eyebrows at the FAA.

“There are the human elements,” Peter Morris, chief economist at aviation consultancy Ascend/FlightGlobal, told the BBC. “The pilots and crew understand far more of the deep technical issues and will be understandably vociferous about the absolute integrity of the revised hardware, software and procedures. In the light of the evidence to date, they are likely to be very critical and need significant reassurance and explanation.”

“While many passengers probably do not recognise their aircraft type, events like this inevitably get people talking. Any further incidents, even if slightly related to these issues, would be utterly disastrous for public opinion and really shake trust in aviation safety.”

As new cars continue to get more expensive, consumers are increasingly buying late-model used cars, according to recent research from Experian.

In its report on auto financing activity in the third quarter, Experian found that lending for used cars and trucks rose 2.4 percent year-over-year, reaching 55.15 percent.

In an interesting development, Experian found that consumers qualifying for prime loans were the biggest buyers of used cars. Even though most could afford to purchase a new vehicle, the research shows that savvy buyers with good to excellent credit scores preferred to shop among the increasing number of late-model used vehicles.

In fact, the better consumers’ credit scores, the more likely they were to purchase a used vehicle. Lending to “super-prime” applicants increased 3.3 percent to reach 13.42 percent during the quarter. 

‘Optimal choice’

"Consumers appear to be realizing that financing a used vehicle can be an optimal choice, particularly as they look to improve their financial health,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive financial solutions. “With so many late-model vehicles, used vehicles can offer similar features to new vehicles but at a lower cost." 

Buying a 2017 model just coming off a three-year lease, a consumer may find the same features that are included on a similar 2020 model but escape paying the depreciation that begins the moment the car is driven off the lot. 

An analysis by Carfax shows that new vehicles can lose more than 10 percent of their value during the first month of ownership. And the value keeps falling.

Depreciation on new cars

According to current depreciation rates, Carfax says the value of a new vehicle can drop by more than 20 percent after the first 12 months of ownership. After that, the value can decline by 10 percent per year over the next four years.

The Experian report shows that prime borrowers are also lengthening their loan terms just as subprime borrowers are. The average used car loan was for 64.89 months compared to 69.28 months for new car loans.

Average vehicle loan amounts continued to increase to go up for all borrowers. The average loan amount for a new vehicle increased 3.8 percent to $32,480, while the average used car loan amount increased 2.3 percent to $20,466. 

Consumers also stretched themselves in the third quarter when agreeing on a monthly payment. The average used vehicle payment was $393, compared to the average new car payment of $550.

Recent studies have explored how air pollution can affect consumers’ health in a myriad of ways, including everything from anxiety to breathing problems and glaucoma. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that air pollutants can negatively affect consumers’ bone health. 

“Our findings add to a growing body of evidence that indicates that particulate air pollution is relevant for bone health across a wide range of air pollution levels, including levels found in high-income and low- and medium-income countries,” said researcher Cathryn Tonne. 

How are the bones affected?

The researchers had over 3,700 people participate in the study, all of whom lived in southern India, to determine how air pollution affected their bone health. 

There were two primary components to this study. Participants had their bone density measured, and the researchers utilized a model that works to estimate how much air pollution consumers are breathing in in any given area. 

Though bone density is known to decrease as consumers age, the researchers found a direct relationship between higher levels of air pollution and osteoporosis, which is marked by reduced bone health. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that consumers’ air pollution exposure stay limited to 10 micrograms per cubic meter each year. However, in this study, the majority of participants were exposed to nearly 33 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter each year. 

Though the figures alone are cause for concern, exposure to higher levels of air pollution were found to negatively affect participants’ bone mass. 

According to researcher Otavio T. Ranzani, “inhalation of polluting particles could lead to bone mass loss through the oxidative stress and inflammation caused by air pollution.” 

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling 744,852 model year 2001-2011 vehicles. A full list of the recalled vehicles may be found here.

The bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame may deteriorate, possibly resulting in the glass panel detaching from the vehicle.

A detached glass panel can separate from the vehicle and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the glass panel bonding and replace the sliding roof, as necessary, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin February 14, 2020.

Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at (800) 367-6372.

Bakkavor Foods USA is recalling Trader Joe’s Egg Salad and Trader Joe’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

There are no confirmed illnesses to date.

The following products, which come in plastic cups and trays with SKU numbers printed on the labels and “USE BY” date codes on the top or bottom of the containers, are being recalled:

The recalled products were shipped to Trader Joe’s retail stores in Alabama, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should discard or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Bakkavor Foods at (855) 312-7504, Monday through Friday 8:00P.M. - 5:00P.M. (PST).

BMW of North America is recalling 245 model year 2020 Z4 M40i, Z4 sDrive30i, 330i and 330i xDrive vehicles, and model year 2020 Toyota Supras.

The headlight control units may fail causing a loss of one or both of the headlights.

Headlight failure can reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the headlight control units free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin January 17, 2020.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at (800) 525-7417 or Toyota customer service at (888) 270-9371.

Almark Foods is recalling hard-boiled and peeled eggs in white plastic pails with white plastic lids.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The following products, which may be associated with a Listeria monocytogenes foodborne illness investigation now underway, are being recalled:

The recalled products, packaged in 20-, 23-, and 25-pound plastic pails and sold primarily to further processing plants of egg products and restaurant chain suppliers, were shipped to food service companies in Georgia, California, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Iowa, Missouri, Alabama, Florida and Arizona.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should destroy them.

Consumers with questions may contact Almark Foods at (877) 546-0454 Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm (EST).

Does the mere use of the word “diet” on a brand name beverage deceive consumers into thinking that they’ll lose weight because they drink it? A U.S. federal appeals court says no.

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court may have put to bed once and for all a plaintiff’s complaint alleging that Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. violated various California consumer-fraud laws by branding Diet Dr Pepper using the word “diet.” 

Every diet brand under the sun can sleep better tonight

The judicial panel found that the “complaint failed to sufficiently allege that reasonable consumers read the word ‘diet’ in a soft drink's brand name to promise weight loss, healthy weight management, or other health benefits.”

The key description there being “reasonable consumers.” The judges said that just because some consumers may interpret “diet Dr. Pepper” as something that will cause them to lose weight, using the word “diet” in the brand name doesn’t make the brand name false or misleading. 

“No reasonable consumer would assume that Diet Dr Pepper’s use of the term ‘diet’ promises weight loss or management,” Circuit Judge Jay Bybee wrote. “The use of ‘diet’ in a soft drink’s brand name is understood as a relative claim about the calorie content of that soft drink compared to the same brand’s ‘regular’ (full-caloric) option.” 

In Dr Pepper’s case, the company says its “regular” drink is made up of 250 calories; the diet version delivers zero calories.

Reasonable complaints or not?

In so many words, the judges argued that the Diet Dr Pepper issue is another example of consumers misunderstanding a word in a name, description, or packaging -- something the legal world is likely to see more of.

Of course, these kinds of allegations aren’t exactly new. In a previous case, Ebner v. Fresh, Inc., a consumer claimed that the net weight on the packaging for a lip balm was deceptive because the design of the dispenser left 25 percent of the product inaccessible.

“Now, instead of just alleging that companies are deceiving consumers through the language used in their advertising claims, consumer plaintiffs are expanding their allegations to target visual impressions created by product packaging,” Michelle Gillette & Josh Foust wrote in response to the case.

“We held that similar dispensers were commonplace in the market, such as a reasonable consumer ‘understands the general mechanics of these dispensers and further understands that some product may be left in the tube,’” the court held.

“A rational consumer would not simply assume that the tube contains no further product when he or she could see the remaining product in the tube. And even if SOME consumers would make that assumption, the packaging was not deceptive just because some consumers could reasonable misunderstand the product.”

The auto industry ended 2019 on a high note when it came to the prices buyers paid. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new car or truck hit a record high in November and came within a whisker of beating it in December.

Valuation analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) estimate that the ATP in December was $38,948, just $80 less than the record $39,028 consumers paid for the average new light vehicle in November.

December’s ATP was up 1.7 percent from December 2018 and only 0.2 percent lower than November’s number. But the end of the year price surge doesn’t mean automakers were jacking up prices. Rather, it suggests consumers were more willing to spend.

Dealers actually cut prices

A higher ATP means consumers selected more expensive vehicles, such as trucks and SUVs. Selecting higher trim levels and options packages can also raise the average cost of a vehicle. Instead of raising prices, KBB analyst Tim Fleming says dealers were actually cutting them in many cases.

“As retail demand fell in 2019, dealer discounts grew, approaching 7 percent of MSRP in December – the highest since July 2009,” Fleming said. “On a positive note, the discounts appear to be working as the average days in inventory fell by two days from the previous month.”

Fleming said sales are expected to slow in 2020. If that happens, he says buyers may find dealers more willing to negotiate and offer incentives in the months ahead.

Ford was among the strong performers in December, with its ATP rising more than 6 percent. The gain was largely due to strong sales of trucks and SUVs, but the Mustang and Explorer were also huge contributors.

Deals on Infiniti

Nissan grew its December ATP by about 1 percent despite lower prices paid for its Infiniti brand.  At Infiniti, the cost of the QX50 fell the most at 8 percent and the older QX60 model saw its ATP decline by 5 percent.

Nissan, meanwhile, got higher prices for its cars, as the redesigned Versa brought in 15 percent more and the LEAF was up 9 percent.

Honda was the only brand to see a year-over-year decline as its ATP fell 1.7 percent. The sedan-based carmaker had a December ATP of $29,152 compared to an average sale of $29,661 in December 2018.

American Airlines is one of three domestic carriers adversely affected by the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It will likely be compensated by Boeing, and the airline this week served notice that it would share that compensation with its employees.

American, along with Southwest and United, have lost money because they had to cancel and consolidate flights that used the 737 MAX. The aircraft has been grounded since March after a second fatal crash in five months.

While the grounding has been costly for the airlines, employees have also suffered financial loss. As the airlines have canceled flights, it has meant less overtime for employees and less opportunity for growth.

American hasn’t yet specified how it will share its expected compensation from Boeing with its employees because it doesn’t yet know how much it will receive. Southwest, Turkish Airlines, and Icelandic Airlines have reached agreements with Boeing, but negotiations with American are ongoing.

“As we’ve said before, we expect American will be compensated for the lost earnings that the Max grounding has caused,” American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein told CNBC. “We anticipate that part of any compensation American receives will be eligible for profit sharing for our team.”

737 MAX remains grounded

In late 2019, American estimated the grounding of the aircraft would result in losses of $540 million in pretax income for the year. The losses could go much higher since there is no clear indication of when the planes will return to service. American and Southwest have removed the 737 MAX from all schedules through April, and United has canceled MAX flights through June.

American is following the example of Southwest Airlines, which reached an agreement on compensation with Boeing last month and announced it would share $125 million of that with its employees.

Meanwhile, there is no concrete timetable for returning the 737 MAX to the air. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pointedly said that it will determine that date with little to no input from Boeing. The agency is requiring the manufacturer to complete an audit of the software updates it has made and test the revised system in flight simulators with a number of different pilots.

After that, pilots for airlines flying the Boeing 737 MAX must undergo a new round of flight training. 

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was getting ready to ban a litany of flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes. On Thursday, those speculations became reality as the agency finalized its enforcement policy on the issue.

In a press release, the agency said its decision is motivated by the desire to stem the tide of youth vaping in the U.S., which has been called an “epidemic” by officials.

“The United States has never seen an epidemic of substance use arise as quickly as our current epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes,” said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar. 

“By prioritizing enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children, our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don’t provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth.”

Policy takes place within 30 days

The FDA says that the new policy will be enforced within 30 days after it has been submitted to the Federal Register for publication. After that time, the agency says that it will begin enforcement actions against illegal electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) that fit the following description:

• Any flavored, cartridge-based ENDS product (other than tobacco- or menthol-flavored ENDS product);

• All other ENDS products for which the manufacturer has failed to take (or is failing to take) adequate measures to prevent minors’ access; and 

• Any ENDS product that is targeted to minors or likely to promote use of ENDS to minors.

In other words, the agency will aggressively pursue legal action against companies who sell e-cigarettes or e-liquids that have flavors other than tobacco and menthol, and it will be paying special attention to how products are marketed to young people.

“Coupled with the recently signed legislation increasing the minimum age of sale of tobacco to 21, we believe this policy balances the urgency with which we must address the public health threat of youth use of e-cigarette products with the potential role that e-cigarettes may play in helping adult smokers transition completely away from combustible tobacco to a potentially less risky form of nicotine delivery,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn.

Following military service, it’s important for veterans to stay on top of their health care. In a recent study, researchers from the Veterans Affairs Research Communications found that health is the major concern for the majority of veterans returning home from service. 

“What remains to be seen is whether those veterans with health conditions -- which were more commonly experienced by deployed veterans -- continue to maintain high levels of well-being in other life domains over time,” said researcher Dr. Dawn Vogt. 

“Given that it is well-established that health problems can erode functioning in other life domains, it may be that these individuals experience decline in their broader well-being over time.” 

Prioritizing healthcare 

The researchers surveyed 10,000 service members for the study, asking them to report on life after the military once they’ve been home for three months, and then again six months later.

The majority of veterans reported feeling satisfied in their work and social lives, as many were in committed relationships, had found jobs at home, and often socialized with friends or family. However, healthcare was a point of concern for many veterans, as more than half of those involved in the study reported problems with their health after returning home, particularly when it came to struggling with chronic pain. 

Mental health issues were also a sore spot, as around one-third of the participants reported issues with anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping. 

Tailoring support services

The researchers believe that these findings provide a great deal of insight into how veterans are thinking after returning home. They hope their work can help assistance programs across the country do better in their work to serve veterans’ needs after service. 

Moving forward, Dr. Vogt hopes that support services can be tailored to fit veterans’ concerns, which this study revealed are primarily physical and mental health. With the right options in place, the readjustment period can be easier for vets returning home. 

“Given that most transition support is targeted to veterans with the most acute or chronic concerns, this recommendation may require rethinking how veteran programs prioritize their efforts,” said Dr. Vogt. “While it makes sense to target resources to those with greatest need, it is better to support individuals before their concerns become chronic when we can.” 

The holiday shopping season is over, so many retailers will be winding down their hiring to start 2020. But Lowe’s is already looking ahead to its busy spring retail season. 

The company announced on Thursday that it will be hiring over 53,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers to fill out more than 1,700 stores across the U.S. this spring. To get ready, Lowe’s says it will be holding hiring events over the next three months in different U.S. regions.

“Lowe’s stores in Florida, Southern California and Hawaii, as well as parts of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Texas, Alabama, and Georgia, where spring weather typically arrives earliest, will host the first walk-in hiring events from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8,” the company said in a press release. “Candidates may receive on-the-spot offers during this open interview process.”

Getting ready for a busy spring season

Lowe’s plans to hold four other hiring events into early March to cover the rest of its stores in other U.S. regions. Those are scheduled to take place on Jan. 15, Feb. 5, Feb. 19, and March 4. For a full rundown of where these events are taking place, consumers can visit the company’s event page here.

Seasonal positions that will be filled during these events include cashiers, lawn and garden associates, stockers, and loaders. The company notes that around half of all seasonal workers typically convert into permanent workers. 

Part- and full-time positions also include supervisors, sales specialists, and customer service and merchandise service associates. 

“Spring is the busiest season for home improvement projects and a great time to launch a new career at Lowe’s,” said Jennifer Weber, Lowe’s executive vice president of human resources. “As part of our strategy to better serve customers and operate our stores more efficiently, these hiring events will help us build the right teams at the right times across the U.S. to meet customer demand as they plan for spring.”

Many parents worry about their children’s health, particularly when it comes to childhood obesity. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital has found an interesting way to help reduce that risk. 

According to the researchers, children who chose whole milk instead of reduced fat milk were more likely to reduce their risk of developing obesity. 

“The majority of children in Canada and the United States consume cow’s milk on a daily basis and it is a major contributor of dietary fat for many children,” said researcher Dr. Jonathan Maguire. “In our review, children following the current recommendation of switching to reduced-fat milk at age two were not leaner than those consuming whole milk.” 

Benefits of whole milk

To understand how different types of milk can contribute to children’s weight gain, the researchers analyzed the results from nearly 30 studies that included data from around 21,000 children. 

The studies the researchers pulled from spanned seven different countries, and they were able to track kids’ milk consumption over the course of several years. 

The findings were surprising to the researchers. They learned that children who opted for whole milk instead of reduced-fat milk were less likely to develop childhood obesity in the majority of the studies. 

As Dr. Maguire explained, whole milk, and dairy more broadly, has been associated with negative health consequences. And despite these positive findings, whole milk may not be the only factor that helps keep kids at healthy weights. 

“All of the studies we examined were observational studies, meaning that we cannot be sure if whole milk caused the lower risk of overweight or obesity,” Dr. Maguire said. “Whole milk may have been related to other factors which lowered the risk of overweight or obesity.” 

Following healthy habits

Though many studies have found how much parents’ -- particularly mothers’ -- eating and health habits can affect their children’s, researchers from Yale University found that nutrition programs in school can be just as beneficial to their children’s health. 

Schools that prioritize health and nutrition by involving parents, encouraging consumption of healthy foods and drinks, and incorporating nutritional foods at mealtimes have seen positive trends in students’ overall health and fitness habits. 

“Childhood obesity is a serious health threat, and schools are a vital way to reach children and their families to reduce risks and promote health,” said researcher Jeannette Ickovics. “These findings strongly support previous administration policies that provided healthier food for all children in public schools.”

Despite forecasts that prices at the pump would fall in late December and early 2020, the price of gasoline has started the new year moving higher. New tensions in the Middle East may cause even higher prices in the weeks ahead.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average price of regular gasoline is $2.58 a gallon, three cents higher than a week ago. Regular now sells for an average 33 cents a gallon more than a year ago. The average price of premium is $3.17, also three cents higher than last Friday. The average price of diesel fuel is $3 a gallon, a penny more than last week.

The average was largely driven higher by sharp increases in prices in the Midwest and Southeast. Prices rose 11 cents a gallon in Michigan and 9 cents a gallon in Ohio. All of the top 10 states with the cheapest gas -- mostly located in the Southeast -- saw prices at the pump rise in the last week.

“The majority of states saw gas prices increase in the last week – some by as much as a nickel to a dime, but any spikes in gas prices that motorists are seeing will be short-lived,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “AAA expects gas prices to decrease following the holidays.”

But Casselano’s comment came hours before a U.S. drone strike killed Iran’s top general in an airstrike on Iraq’s Baghdad Airport. The airstrike was in retaliation for the Iranian sponsored attack and siege on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Oil prices surged in overnight trading, with Brent crude prices approaching $70 a barrel and poised to go higher. 

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:

• Hawaii ($3.66)

• California ($3.55)

• Washington ($3.16) 

• Nevada ($3.03)

• Oregon ($3.02) 

• Alaska ($2.97)

• Arizona ($2.83)

• Pennsylvania ($2.79)

• New York ($2.71)

• Utah ($2.71) 

The states with the cheapest regular gas

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

• Missouri ($2.22)

• Oklahoma ($2.26)

• Mississippi ($2.28)

• Kansas ($2.28)

• Texas ($2.29)

• Arkansas ($2.29)

• Louisiana ($2.32)

• Alabama ($2.35)

• South Carolina ($2.36)

• Virginia ($2.37)

Ford Motor Company is recalling 3,857 model year 2020 Explorers and Lincoln Aviators.

Over time, the protective sleeve on the vapor fuel line may chafe through the plastic liquid fuel line and cause a fuel leak.

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

What to do

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install a longer protective sleeve on the liquid fuel line, as necessary, free of charge.

Owners will be notified of the safety risk with an interim letter on January 20, 2020. A second notice will be sent once parts are available, expected late in the first quarter of 2020.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S49.