Current Events in August 2020

AMC is planning to reopen 100 of its theaters next week with new safety measures and 15-cent movies.

The movie theater chain said Thursday that it will offer “moves in 2020 at 1920 prices” on opening day, August 20. After that, the company will be offering $5 tickets to movies like "Inception," "Black Panther," "Back to the Future," and "The Empire Strikes Back.” 

Guests will be required to wear masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The company said it will be selling masks at the theater for a dollar. AMC will also be allowing fewer guests into theaters to promote social distancing, stepping up cleaning procedures, and upgrading its ventilation systems. 

“Masks are required for guests and crew throughout the theater,” AMC said on its website. “Your mask must cover your nose and mouth and fit snugly around your face and chin. Neck gaiters, open-chin bandanas and masks with vents or exhalation valves are not acceptable at this time.” 

Reopening two-thirds of theaters 

AMC has delayed its reopening several times amid the ongoing health crisis. The chain initially planned to reopen theaters with a mask-optional policy, but consumer backlash prompted it to scrap that plan. AMC said in June that it would reopen on July 15, but a lack of movies being offered by studios forced it to push back that date. 

The company now says that two-thirds of its 600 U.S. theaters will be open by September 3. The rest of its locations will open "only after authorized to do so by state and local officials.”

"We are thrilled to once again open our doors to American moviegoers who are looking for an opportunity to get out of their houses and apartments and escape into the magic of the movies," Adam Aron, AMC's CEO, said in a statement on Thursday.

A full list of AMC theaters that will be reopening next week can be viewed on the company’s website.

At one point during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, air travel was down 96 percent. Hotel bookings have cratered. Cruise ships remain tied up at the pier.

So maybe it’s no surprise that consumers would begin asking themselves why they’re paying an annual fee to carry a travel rewards card. Many millennials have apparently decided it’s no longer worth it.

A new ValuePenguin survey shows that 41 percent of millennial travel cardholders closed a travel rewards card since the beginning of the pandemic. Another 34 percent say they’ve thought about doing it.

More than half of those who were laid off or furloughed have cashed out some or all of their points or miles due to the pandemic's impact on their ability to travel. Again, a significant group -- 23 percent -- is considering it.

Not that surprising

In a way, the numbers are not surprising since many travel rewards cards carry hefty annual fees. While the points and miles can be very rewarding, some cards charge more than $100 a year to cardholders.

With the pandemic discouraging consumers from traveling, there’s little opportunity to rack up miles and points. But cardholders still have to pay the annual fee.

The survey also found that 28 percent of Americans who booked a trip using their travel rewards lost their miles and points when they had to cancel the trip due to the pandemic. 

"It doesn't surprise me at all that many people are closing travel cards right now," said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, ValuePenguin's parent company. "Many Americans are simply trying to keep food on the table, and hoarding travel miles and points just doesn't make any sense for a lot of people at this time."

Credit score impact

Canceling a credit card will have a negative impact on your credit score. Your access to credit is one part of the score’s formula, so your score will dip when the amount of credit is lowered. However, in most cases, the decrease is small and temporary.

Amid all the account-closing, some consumers are actually applying for new travel rewards credit cards. Forty-five percent of millennials have applied for a new card since March. Schulz says it could be a sign of optimism.

“Americans love travel, and many cannot wait for the day when they can get back on a plane,” he said. 

Even if that’s the case, Schulz and other personal finance experts say there may be better choices when it comes to a credit card. A simple cashback card may be more rewarding and rarely carries an annual fee.

If you’re considering applying for a new credit card, ConsumerAffairs’ guide to the “Best Credit Cards” may help you pick the one that’s best for you.

While one recent study has highlighted the ways hackers can hack into consumers’ cell phones, a new study is looking at yet another way consumers’ privacy could be manipulated through the network they use.

According to researchers from Ruhr-University Bochum, cell phone calls made on 4G LTE mobile networks could be susceptible to hackers. Though these networks should be immune to such attacks, the researchers learned that an issue in their security systems could leave many consumers vulnerable to these types of threats.  

“Voice over LTE has been in use for six years,” said researcher David Rupprecht. “We’re unable to verify whether attackers have exploited the security gap in the past.” 

Not-so-private phone calls

The majority of consumers utilize LTE networks on their mobile phones to do everything from searching the internet to making texts and calls. One of the benefits of this kind of network is that it is designed to keep consumers’ data private. However, the researchers learned that this isn’t always the case. 

When consumers make private calls on their phones, the contents of such conversations are kept safe with a unique encryption code. When all calls have their own codes, consumers’ information can stay private. However, this study revealed that it’s rather easy for hackers to get repeated codes and ultimately steal information from consumers. 

“The attacker has to engage the victim in a conversation,” said Rupprecht. “The longer the attacker talked to the victim, the more content of the previous conversation he or she was able to decrypt.” 

The process needs to occur rather quickly, and the hacker needs to be in the same mobile network as the person they’re trying to copy information from for it to work. But if the conditions are right, the researchers explained that all a hacker has to do is call their target not long after they’ve ended a separate call to gain access to an encryption code to steal information. 

The researchers analyzed random calls made on an LTE network across Germany. They found that 80 percent of the calls they examined were affected by this kind of security breach.

While this is certainly cause for concern, the researchers noted that several mobile networks have already resolved this issue. However, it’s still very important for consumers to be aware of these potential vulnerabilities and to stay vigilant since it’s impossible to determine if the issue has been completely eradicated. 

The cost of living rose in July by more than most economists expected, but there’s not a lot of concern that we’re about to experience a burst of inflation.

While it’s true the government is pumping a lot of money into the economy, unemployment remains high and the economy isn’t growing. In fact, it’s moving in the other direction.

The Labor Department reports its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6 percent in July, fueled mostly by an increase in gasoline prices. However, prices at the pump have leveled off in the last couple of weeks and have actually drifted lower. The government reports that the energy index increased 2.5 percent in July as the Index tracking gasoline prices rose 5.6 percent. 

Lower food costs

Food prices for July moved lower, with the food index declining by 0.4 percent. It was driven lower by a 1.1 percent decline in food prepared at home.

The cost of car insurance moved sharply higher last month as the steep discounts offered by major carriers during the initial pandemic expired. Consumers also paid more last month for rent, communication, used cars and trucks, and health care services.

Over a 12-month period, inflation is rising at 1.0 percent, not nearly enough to set off alarm bells. The Federal Reserve would actually like prices to rise at a 2.0 percent rate. Economists are generally pleased with the July report. Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, told Reuters that inflation in July appeared to be in a healthy spot.

“This should end any speculation that the pandemic-related slump in demand will quickly push the economy into a deflationary spiral,” he said. “But this is not a sign that the U.S. is instead about to experience a bout of much high inflation because of supply restrictions.”

Inflation over the last 12 months

When the July numbers are placed in the context of the last 12 months, the cost of food has risen 4.1 percent since July 2019. Even though it rose in July, the cost of energy has actually declined 11.2 percent over the last year.

There are areas of the economy where consumers have faced rising costs and may be likely to do so in the coming months. While the price of prescription drugs dipped slightly last month, the cost of physician services jumped 0.7 percent and hospital services cost 0.2 percent more.

There was a big jump in the cost of wireless communication services, which rose 3.6 percent. Used vehicle prices rose 2.3 percent, ending three straight months of declines.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 431 model year 2020 F-150 pickup trucks.

The vehicles may have been built with an improper attachment nut used to fasten the positive battery cable (B+) to the starter motor. An improper attachment nut may not provide a secure connection to the starter or the required conductive properties.

This could increase the potential for incremental heat generation during a vehicle start cycle, and electrical arcing, which could lead to a fire.

There are no reports of fire, accident or injury.

What to do

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the starter motor B+ power supply attachment nut.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's reference number for this recall is 20S40.

Kader Exports is recalling certain consignments of various sizes of frozen cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp sold in 1-lb, 1.5-lb., and 2-lb. retail bags.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There have been no reports of any illnesses to date.

The a list of the recalled product, sold nationwide from late February 2020, to Mid-May 2020, may be found here.

What to do

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

Consumers with questions may contact the company at +91-022-62621004/\ or +91-022-62621009, Monday – Friday from 10:00 am to 4 pm GMT +5.5.

BMW of North America is recalling five model year 2020 X3 sDrive40i, X3 xDrive40i and X3M40i vehicles.

The vehicles were not programmed with rearview camera software during assembly, therefore, when the transmission is shifted to reverse, a rearview image is not displayed.

An inoperative rearview camera display can increase the risk of a crash when reversing.

What to do

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will program the affected vehicles with rearview camera software free of charge.

A notification schedule has not yet been provided.

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

Video-sharing platform TikTok has faced a great deal of scrutiny from U.S. regulators over its data collection practices and its connection to the Chinese government. While it has defended itself and even offered to share its algorithms with the cybersecurity community, a recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal suggests that it had been tracking Google Android users for months without their knowledge or consent.

The publication reports that TikTok circumvented Google privacy safeguards to collect MAC addresses from Android users for 18 months before stopping the practice last November, when scrutiny from the U.S. government was ramping up. MAC addresses can act as identifiers that are unique to individual devices and could be used to serve users targeted ads. 

The new finding contrasts starkly with the company’s reaction to an executive order issued last week that seeks to ban the app from the U.S. over data privacy concerns. 

“We want the 100 million Americans who love our platform because it is your home for expression, entertainment, and connection to know: TikTok has never, and will never, waver in our commitment to you. We prioritize your safety, security, and the trust of our community -- always,” the company said in a blog post.

Feds clash with TikTok

The Trump administration previously cited concerns that TikTok and other Chinese apps like WeChat are able to gather data and share that information with the Chinese government. 

“TikTok automatically gathers vast swaths of information from its users, including internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search history,” the administration’s executive order stated. “This data threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information -- potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information and blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.”

While the Journal’s investigation shows no evidence of this kind of agenda, the findings do place a dark cloud over the company’s stance on user privacy and security. In response to the report, a TikTok spokesperson reaffirmed that the company prioritizes user security.

“Under the leadership of our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Roland Cloutier, who has decades of experience in law enforcement and the financial services industry, we are committed to protecting the privacy and safety of the TikTok community. We constantly update our app to keep up with evolving security challenges, and the current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses. We have never given any TikTok user data to the Chinese government nor would we do so if asked,” the spokesperson said.

Regulators respond

In a statement to the Journal, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called on Google to take action to prevent TikTok and other apps from skirting its security to collect consumers’ data.

“Google needs to mind its store, and TikTok shouldn’t be on it. If Google is telling users they won’t be tracked without their consent and knowingly allows apps like TikTok to break its rules by collecting persistent identifiers, potentially in violation of our children’s privacy laws, they’ve got some explaining to do,” he said. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is going after a trio of defendants who have built more than 300 fraudulent websites selling hard-to-find coronavirus-related health and safety items.

The DOJ’s first move was to obtain a Temporary Restraining Order in an effort to bring the scammers to a screeching halt. The enforcement action -- filed in Tampa, Florida -- is part of the Justice Department’s non-stop efforts focused on finding, investigating, and prosecuting illegal conduct related to the pandemic. Dealing with those who unscrupulously profit off of the pandemic is a prime concern for the DOJ. 

“The Department of Justice is committed to preventing fraudsters from exploiting this pandemic for personal gain,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ethan P. Davis of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “We will use every resource at the government’s disposal to pursue scammers who are stealing money from citizens amidst the ongoing public health crisis.”

How the con works

As laid out in court filings, Thu Phan Dinh, Tran Khanh, and Nguyen Duy Toan -- all residents of Vietnam and yet to be located -- are reputed to have taken part in a wire fraud scheme seeking to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The complaint said that the defendants operated more than 300 websites pushing products that became scarce during the pandemic, such as hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. The haul was pretty good, the DOJ said, claiming thousands of victims in all 50 states who attempted to purchase these items from the scam websites but never received the products they bought.

The complaint alleges that defendants set up hundreds of email accounts and payment accounts with PayPal to grease the skids of the scheme and keep it hidden from law enforcement. 

Defendants are also alleged to have listed fake contact listings on the sites which, in turn, caused a rash of complaints from defrauded consumers going to innocent individuals and businesses who had no hand in the scam at all.

What to look out for

If the DOJ can bring these fraudsters to justice, that might be a big haul. Unfortunately, in hydra-like fashion, there’s likely to be others who want to bilk the consumer off the back of COVID-19. As a precaution, the agency recommends that Americans take the following precautionary measures to protect themselves from known and emerging scams related to COVID-19:

• Verify anything and everything related to COVID-19. Independently verify the identity of any company, charity, or individual that contacts you regarding COVID-19 or any products relating to COVID-19.

• Double-check websites and email addresses. If you’re contacted by any website that offers information, products, or services related to COVID-19, the DOJ says to take a careful look at the email address the message is sent from. Scammers often employ addresses that differ only slightly from those belonging to the entities they are impersonating. As a case-in-point, they might use “cdc.com” or “cdc.org” instead of “cdc.gov.”

• Treat unsolicited emails as a warning flag. If you didn’t go looking for health and safety items, then it’s a pretty good bet that any unsolicited emails offering information, supplies, or treatment for COVID-19 or requesting your personal information for medical purposes are illegitimate. Legitimate health authorities will not contact the general public this way. The DOJ says consumers should ignore offers from suspicious sources for a COVID-19 vaccine, cure, or treatment. Everyone’s rule-of-thumb should be this: if a vaccine becomes available, you won’t hear about it for the first time through an email, online ad, or unsolicited sales pitch.

• Check reviews. Check online reviews for any company offering COVID-19 products or supplies. Avoid companies whose customers have complained about not receiving items. 

There’s other red flags the DOJ says consumers can watch out for, but they’re a bit different from emails or websites selling scarce health and safety products. 

Those include charities or crowdfunding sites soliciting donations in connection with COVID-19; any business, charity, or individual requesting payments or donations in cash, by wire transfer, gift card, or through the mail; and any “investment opportunities” tied to COVID-19, especially those based on claims that a small company’s products or services can help stop the virus.  

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, consumers should visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) websites. If anything looks fishy and it’s related to the coronavirus, the public is urged to report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline by phone at (1-866-720-5721) or via an online reporting form available here. 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 5,161,612 (5,100,636)

Total U.S. deaths: 164,994 (163,533)

Total global cases:20,412,501 (20,130,206)

Total global deaths: 744,211 (737,394)

Rapid response test firms see spike in demand

From the beginning, the coronavirus (COVID-19) testing process in the United States has been plagued by delays, and it’s actually gotten worse as more tests are administered. That’s why there is growing interest in rapid-response tests.

The Wall Street Journal reports that health care providers and nursing homes are competing to get rapid-response COVID-19 antigen testing supplies from the two companies that landed emergency approval from the U.S. government to produce them.

The tests are seen as effective because they provide results much faster, helping doctors and nurses diagnose people before they can infect others. These tests identify virus proteins while molecular tests look for the virus’s genetic material.

Two conferences say no to football this fall

The Big Ten and the Pac 12 are the first two major collegiate athletic conferences to postpone their 2020 football seasons. Both leagues determined that the threat to players and coaches is too great to play this fall.

Big Ten conference presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday to postpone all fall sports seasons, including football. A short time later, Pac 12 presidents took similar action.

So far, other major football conferences appear to be on the fence. At last report, the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, and Big 12 schools still expect to play their schedules.

Rural areas see an increase in cases

After a spike in densely populated areas over the summer, some rural parts of the nation are beginning to see a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. 

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported more than 200 new cases this week, raising the state’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases to nearly 50,000. In addition, six more deaths had been reported since Monday morning’s total, increasing the overall death toll in the state to 937.

Health officials in the Midwest are urging residents to continue to follow mitigation guidelines. They attribute the rise in cases to complacency, shutdown fatigue, and a desire to engage in normal summertime activities.

Fleeing New York

One byproduct of the coronavirus has been a migration from the cities to the suburbs, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the nation’s largest city. The New York Post reports that moving companies in Manhattan have been swamped in recent weeks as thousands of the city’s residents are heading for greener pastures.

“People are fleeing the city in droves,” Moon Salahie, owner of Elite Moving & Storing in Yonkers, told the Post. 

Salahie says his company has been working nonstop since the city began Phase 1 of its reopening in June. He said 90 percent of the moves are to the suburbs and mostly involve families with kids worried about the school year. 

Survey shows consumers pining for restaurant dining

The pandemic has sparked a resurgence in home cooking, but there’s now evidence that this novelty is wearing a little thin. The Oracle Food and Beverage study found that 59 percent of U.S. consumers say they plan to dine out as soon as they are able to. 

Despite that, the survey indicates that consumers will approach their favorite restaurants with a measure of caution. Forty percent said they would feel safer if they didn’t have to touch restaurant menus but could access their choices from their mobile devices.

"Throughout the globe, we have seen communities rallying around local independents to ensure they make it through to the other side of this crisis," said Simon de Montfort Walker, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Food and Beverage. "But while consumers are anxious to get back out there to eat, they come with new expectations on everything from menus to the technology used to increase safety."

Around the nation

• New York: New York City restaurants could face a bleak future. According to Grub Street, nearly 200,000 food service employees are out of work. Roughly 80 percent of the city’s restaurants could not pay their full rent in June.

• Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine has ruled out providing an additional $100 a week in unemployment benefits to supplement the extra $300 that Washington would provide under President Trump’s executive order. The governor’s office says the state can’t afford the extra expense, a view echoed by a number of other governors.

• Colorado: Phillips County, like many rural areas of the country, has been hard hit economically by the pandemic-induced shutdown, but local residents have stepped up to help businesses and their employees. When asked to donate all or part of their stimulus payments from the government, 125 residents wrote checks for a total of $90,000.

Though the housing market has been picking up over the last few months, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Arizona predicts that things may not be favorable for some homeowners over the long-term. 

According to researchers, older consumers who are looking to sell their homes in the years ahead could have trouble finding buyers. Their work revealed that costs associated with homeownership could prevent millennials and members of Generation Z from pulling the trigger and becoming homeowners themselves. 

“There’s this mismatch -- if those over 65 unload their homes, and those under 65 aren’t buying them, what happens to those homes,” said researcher Arthur C. Nelson. “...The vast supply is so large and the demand...is going to be so small, in comparison, that there’s going to be a real problem starting later this decade.” 

Homeowner trends are changing

To understand where the housing market is expected to turn in the next two decades, the researchers analyzed data from both the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and the U.S. Census Bureau. They looked at the average age of homeowners from 2018 and then used available data to predict what the housing market will look like by 2038. 

The researchers expect that housing trends are likely to change drastically over the next 20 years, but consumers shouldn’t expect a switch to flip overnight. Based on their findings, the changes will happen slowly and will depend on the geographic region. 

In bigger, metropolitan areas, older consumers looking to sell shouldn’t have as much of an issue. However, it could become rather difficult for those in smaller, lesser known areas. The researchers explained that this trend will likely affect millions of consumers nationwide. 

“The people who own homes now in thousands of declining communities may simply have to walk away from them,” Nelson said. 

As 2040 draws closer, the researchers predict that the number of homeowners under the age of 65 is likely to be lower than it was in 2018. This is particularly concerning for older consumers, many of whom use the sale of their homes to help finance retirement plans. 

Helping older consumers

Nelson and his team have come up with several ideas that could help offset the housing burden that older consumers will face in the coming years. One plan would be to divide bigger homes into several units. This would make selling less necessary, and the full cost of living in a large home wouldn’t fall on one person. 

The researchers also believe that more government intervention could benefit both older and younger consumers -- and the housing market at large. 

“We’re going to wake up in 2025 -- give or take a few years -- to realize that millions of seniors can’t get out of their homes and that it’s going to get worse in the 2030s,” Nelson said. “We must start doing things now to reduce the coming shock of too many seniors trying to sell their homes to too few younger buyers.” 

President Trump’s executive order on deferring payroll taxes has left many logistical questions for businesses and workers alike. But tax policy experts say the order likely won’t result in much, if anything, being added to workers’ paychecks. 

Over the weekend, Trump signed executive orders to provide some COVID-19 financial relief after Congress was unable to agree on a package before leaving on a month-long vacation. The order addressed last month’s expiration of a $600 a week federal unemployment bonus, as well as student loan relief and help for renters. 

Regarding payroll taxes, Trump said people would be getting a little more money thanks to the deferral of payroll taxes from employees through the end of the year.

“This modest, targeted action will put money directly in the pockets of American workers and generate additional incentives for work and employment, right when the money is needed most,” he said. 

Essentially a loan

Under the order, which experts have described as “vague,” employees’ obligation to pay a 6.2 percent Social Security tax on each paycheck would be deferred -- not waived. The order applies to people who “generally” make less than $4,000 every two weeks. 

Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center senior fellow Janet Holtzblatt told CNBC Make It that the deferral is essentially a “payroll tax loan.” 

“It’s a loan, and if people understand it, they would know that they or their employer would have to repay it eventually,” Holzblatt told CNBC. 

Questions remain

Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, added that it’s “unclear” whether workers will have to rectify the deferral payment on tax form 1040 next year. He said employees may not even see the extra money added to their paychecks.

“It’s actually not clear that firms would be required to necessarily pass along the deferred savings to employees,” Watson says. “It’s very possible that firms would be able to take the deferred savings and withhold from employees.”

Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont, agreed that businesses may not be inclined to give the extra money to workers in light of the circumstances. 

“It is highly questionable whether firms would actually pass the money along to their workers, because it is the businesses that are on the hook for the taxes,” Stanley told MarketWatch.

Pricing products based on inventory is not new, but the New York State Attorney General is taking action against egg producers who have gotten a bit too enthusiastic with their markup during the pandemic by charging consumers far above normal prices.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Hillandale Farms, accusing the company of illegally marking up the price of its products during the coronavirus pandemic. Hillandale is one of the country’s largest producers and wholesale distributors of eggs. 

Quadrupling egg prices 

According to the lawsuit, James claims Hillandale quadrupled the price consumers typically pay for eggs on over four million cartons of its product. Overpriced eggs were sold to major grocery store chains, U.S. military facilities, and wholesale food distributors throughout New York during March and April.

During that two-month stretch when the coronavirus was raging through New York, James estimates that Hillandale made an estimated $4 million from “unlawfully increasing” the price of these eggs. To make matters worse, many of those eggs were sold in grocery stores located in low-income areas. 

“As this pandemic ravaged our country, Hillandale exploited hardworking New Yorkers to line its own pockets,” said Attorney General James. “In less than two months, Hillandale made millions by cheating our most vulnerable communities and our service members, actions that are both unlawful and truly rotten. I will always stand up for working people, especially when they are taken advantage of by corporate greed.”

Examples of the price gouging

To illustrate her point, James said that Hillandale charged Western Beef supermarkets $0.59 to $1.10 for a dozen large white eggs in January 2020. Then, on March 15, Hillandale jacked that price up another 39 cents. When the pandemic started to hit full stride, Hillandale raised the prices it charged Western Beef over and over, eventually asking $2.93 per dozen — a price almost five times the price Hillandale charged in January. 

Hillandale allegedly pulled the same trick on eggs sold to the commissary store at West Point, James said. In April, Hillandale charged West Point $3.15 per carton of large eggs, almost quadrupling the $0.84 price it charged three months earlier. The suit alleges that Hillandale repeated that same price scheme on eggs sold to Stop & Shop, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Associated Supermarkets, and commissary stores at U.S. military bases at Fort Hamilton and Fort Drum. 

Did consumers across the U.S. get hit with the same?

Is what James found in New York something that happened across the country? In ConsumerAffairs’ research, there was indeed a heightened demand for eggs during the early days of COVID-19 and a price jump, but not necessarily the same as New York.

In checking USDA data, the outbreak caused “large portions” of American consumers to stockpile eggs because the versatility of eggs is high when it comes to home cooking.

That, in concert with the typical Easter season demand, led to sharp price increases, the USDA said. Compared to February, the price for a dozen Large Grade A eggs in the New York wholesale market skyrocketed 77 percent to $1.94 a dozen. In comparison, the National Index Price rose 154 percent to $1.56 per dozen. The Central States Breaking Stock price rose 110 percent to 64 cents per dozen.

Egg prices today and the coming months

By and large, egg prices have come back to normal levels. There are some regional upticks like 3 cents higher for Jumbo eggs in California. Still, that’s nothing compared to the prices that James cites in her suit against Hillandale. 

Supplies of eggs are generally moderate, and the retail demand has backed off now that consumers are comfortable with the ins and outs of the pandemic. Two factors to consider in the coming months when it comes to egg prices are students returning to school and an uptick in egg buying as we approach the holiday season.

A survey of families with college students provides a snapshot of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected family budgets, with 56 percent of families reporting their budget has taken a hit.

The College Ave Student Loans survey was conducted in January before the pandemic hit and then again in June. While well over half of the families are dealing with the negative impact of the virus’s economic disruption, 72 percent say they are still able to help their children pay for college.

While nearly 6 in 10 families are dealing with negative effects to their finances, 58 percent of that group has been able to cope by dipping into savings. But the reliance on savings was not something they planned for.

Because of that, 43 percent said they delayed major purchases while 29 percent have relied on credit cards more than usual. 

Varied impact

The economic impact is not only widespread but varied. Twenty-five percent of the households in the survey reported that at least one parent has been furloughed or has permanently lost a job. Twelve percent were forced to close a business, at least temporarily. Nearly 75 percent predicted the need to borrow at least $5,000 to get through the year.

In the five months between the surveys, parents have had to refocus their priorities. In particular, the June survey found that the approach to paying for college had changed. 

The most recent survey found fewer families are relying on parental income, savings, and 529 accounts. Instead, they’re leaning more on grants and scholarships, student loans, and the student pitching in by working.

“During these unprecedented times, families who have children headed to college will need to come together and have open and honest conversations about the road ahead,” said Jean Chatzky, CEO of HerMoney, which conducted the survey. “Parents must keep in mind that while there are loans for college, there are no loans available for retirement.”

Take nothing for granted

Chatzky’s advice to students is to get a job. After all, generations of college students before them did it. 

“For parents who might be feeling guilty about not contributing more to their child's education, don't,” Chatzky said. “Understand that it's okay for your child to work and take out an appropriate amount of loans, and you can help them guide them through these important first steps into adulthood."

For families that have been fortunate enough to avoid negative economic impact, Chatzky says nothing should be taken for granted. Look for places where you might be able to make cuts to your budget on a monthly basis so you can put that money towards your college fund or college expenses.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a heavy economic toll on many employees and industries, but it has also widened the wealth gap between the haves and the have nots.

And we’re not just talking about the 1 percent that has done well. 

Ordinary Americans with 401(k) or IRA retirement accounts have seen their wealth surge in the second quarter of 2020, with the number of retirement accounts worth at least $1 million jumping by 49 percent.

An analysis by Fidelity Investments suggests that retirement accounts benefitted from the stock market’s remarkable rebound from its late March lows, driven in large part by technology stocks. The market’s rally, in turn, was fueled by Federal Reserve action and pandemic relief legislation passed by Congress.

Employers helped

While some hard-hit Americans have been forced to tap into their retirement funds to make ends meet, the Fidelity analysis shows many more continued or even increased IRA contributions, resulting in record-breaking flows to retail retirement accounts. Contributions to workplace retirement accounts, from both employees and their employers, remained steady, the analysis found.

“While the stock market’s performance in Q2 helped drive workplace retirement account balances higher, employer contributions also played a key role,” said Kevin Barry, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments. “Nearly 90 percent of employers continued to offer matching contributions to their employees over the last quarter, despite the unsteady business landscape.” 

What may be more unusual given the uncertain economic circumstances is that employees actually stepped up their retirement savings during this time. The researchers found that year-to-date contributions to IRAs increased by more than 20 percent.

In the second quarter, the average IRA balance was $111,500, a 13 percent increase from the first quarter and slightly higher than the average balance of $110,400 a year ago. The average 401(k) balance rose to $104,400 in the second quarter, a 14 percent gain from the quarter before the pandemic hit.

Stabilizing effect of the CARES Act

The analysis also stresses the stabilizing role played by the CARES Act, the first comprehensive aid package passed by Congress in late March. It allowed retirement account holders to tap into their accounts to meet short-term needs without penalty. 

As of the end of the second quarter, 711,000 people had taken a CARES Act distribution from their retirement account, which represents 3 percent of eligible employees on Fidelity’s workplace savings platform.

In many cases, their accounts rose by more than their withdrawal as the major stock market indices hit record highs, despite significant damage to economic growth.

Walmart is teaming up with delivery platform Instacart to offer same-day delivery in four markets. Under the partnership, consumers in parts of California -- Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego -- and Tulsa, Oklahoma can get delivery in as little as an hour. 

"The new partnership brings thousands of items -- from groceries, alcohol and pantry staples to home decor and improvement, personal care, electronics and more -- at everyday low prices from Walmart stores to customers' doors in as fast as an hour,” the company said in a statement. 

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a call with analysts in May that the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened consumer interest in ordering items for pickup or delivery.

“As this crisis created a need for social distancing and required people to stay at home, customers embraced pickup and delivery even more. Pickup and delivery are attracting greater numbers of new customers,” he said. “The number of new customers trying pickup and delivery has increased four times since mid-March.”

Competing against Amazon

The partnership will help put both companies in a better position to compete against Amazon and Whole Foods, CNBC and CNN reported. 

“The new partnership brings thousands of items — from groceries, alcohol and pantry staples to home decor and improvement, personal care, electronics and more — at everyday low prices from Walmart stores to customers’ doors in as fast as an hour,” Walmart said in a statement.

Instacart already has relationships in place with Target, Costco, and Kroger, among others.

News of the partnership comes at a time when consumers are expecting greater speed when it comes to delivery times amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Walmart announced earlier this summer that it expects to have Express Delivery in 2,000 stores. 

“We know our customers’ lives have changed during this pandemic, and so has the way they shop,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart, in a statement. “We also know when we come out of this, customers will be busier than ever, and sometimes that will call for needing supplies in a hurry. COVID-19 has prompted us to launch Express Delivery even faster so that we’re here for our customers today and in the future.”

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a July testimony before the House Judiciary committee that Walmart and Instacart are major competitors to it and its subsidiary Whole Foods. 

“Every day, Amazon competes against large, established players like Target, Costco, Kroger, and, of course, Walmart,” Bezos said. “... We also face new competition from the likes of Shopify and Instacart.”