Current Events in October 2020

General Motors (GM) is investing $2 billion to upgrade six of its U.S.-based plants. 

Much of that funding will go towards modifying its Spring Hill, Tennessee assembly plant, which will become the company’s third vehicle manufacturing site to produce electric vehicles (EV). The all-new Cadillac LYRIQ will be the first EV produced at GM’s Spring Hill factory, and the plant renovation is scheduled to begin immediately.

GM’s investment is its latest move toward electric vehicles and part of the company’s new “triple zero” mantra: zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.

Is electric the future?

Over the past two years, GM, Volkwagen, BMW, and Fiat-Chrysler have all put a great number of eggs in the EV basket. While those manufacturers may not want to admit that Tesla has proven there’s a market for EVs, the Elon Musk-led carmaker has certainly challenged the automotive world’s good ‘ol boys. The fact remains that it’s consumers who will determine if a widespread EV marketplace is sustainable. Subaru, for one, is betting that consumers won’t give an electric car or truck the time of day.

All told, GM has committed to invest more than $4.5 billion in U.S. electric vehicle production since March 2019. Earlier, the company said its plans included releasing at least 20 new electric vehicles around the world by 2023.

“We are committed to investing in the U.S., our employees and our communities,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in a news release. “These investments underscore the success of our vehicles today, and our vision of an all-electric future.”

GM plants reaping benefits

Pumping $2 billion into six of GM’s U.S. plants will bring the total amount that the company has invested or committed to invest in its U.S. manufacturing sites to more than $29 billion since 2009. 

The company plans to move production of the next-generation GMC Acadia to the Lansing Delta Township Assembly -- an investment of more than $100 million. A total of $32 million will also be invested at Flint Assembly for future production of heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Both models have been a headache for GM over the last few years, issuing recall after recall. 

Another $17 million has been set aside for GM’s Romulus, Michigan propulsion plant to enhance automation and increase capacity of GM’s 10-speed truck transmission found in full-size pickups like the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade.

Another $3.5 million will be invested at Orion Assembly, and $750,000 will be invested at GM’s site in Brownstown Charter Township, Michigan. Both investments are related to additional production of the Cruise AV -- GM’s autonomous test vehicle -- at Orion Assembly.

Former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb believes the United States is about “a week away from seeing a rapid acceleration in cases” of COVID-19. During a Monday CNBC interview, Gottlieb warned that the fall and winter months are likely to bring a surge in infections and hospitalizations.

“The summer was a backstop, of sorts, to the spring surge, and we have no therapeutic backstop,” Gottlieb said. “The fall and winter season is when this coronavirus is going to want to spread.”

With no vaccine currently available, Gottlieb says the nation will have to wade carefully through the coming season. He added that once a vaccine is approved for distribution, the first patients won’t have immunity until early 2021. 

“We can look to happier days, but these are going to be some tough months ahead,” he said. “We’re going to have to get through this next wave without the benefit of protective immunity from a vaccine.”

Cases likely to increase

Gottlieb’s comments mirror views expressed by several public health officials, many of whom say colder temperatures are likely to fuel an increase in cases. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said recently that indoor gatherings during the holiday season could drive up cases. For this reason, he recommended keeping Thanksgiving gatherings small.

“We're starting to see in the midwest and the northwest an uptick in test positivity which tends to be a predictor that you're going to have surges," Fauci told CNN. "When you go into the fall and winter, the weather's colder, you tend to be indoors. When you're indoors it becomes more problematic to be able to block the transmission of infection."

According to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world has now surpassed 40 million. The U.S. has reported the most cases of any country with over 8.2 million.

As ConsumerAffairs reported earlier this month, the 2020 holiday shopping season is going to be anything but traditional. One of the first major big box brands to act on the pandemic-nudged shift is Lowe’s. For one thing, the home and garden retailer is starting its holiday savings on Thursday, October 22 with an emphasis on online specials. Company officials say the early start will help “eliminate frenzied, crowded, one-day shopping” on Black Friday.

With toys, apparel, and the usual holiday gift fare not part of its product line, Lowe’s focus will be primarily on things related to the “home” -- like appliances, patio furniture, electronics, lighting, and decor -- in what it’s calling its Season of Savings.

"We've been blown away by our customers' creativity and dedication to making their homes work harder and smarter for them this year. Whether repurposing a room into an office or tackling basic repairs, more time at home became more time for home," said Bill Boltz, Lowe's executive vice president, merchandising. 

"We want to make the holiday experience even more accessible this year by offering competitive deals earlier than ever on top-rated, unique gifts for the home, as well as on the most sought-after brands that will help our customers gift home for the holidays this season."

Appliances are a big focus

One key angle that Lowe’s will no doubt work is the appliance angle. Consumers have spent much more time at home because of the coronavirus, spurring a higher demand for appliances. However, appliance factory shutdowns put the hurt on supply chains from parts to finished products. That led to a domino effect that throttled delivery times.

Holding a dominant position in appliance retail will certainly help Lowe’s work its magic during its Season of Savings. It will be holding daily, one-day, online-only Cyber Steals on small appliances and offering savings of up to $700 on major appliances totaling $1,999 or more.

Other hooks

Tools: In addition to good deals on appliances, Lowe’s is doing buy-one-get-one (BOGO) specials on DeWalt and Craftsman tools and accessories, portable heaters to fend off the winter chill, and products kids can give dad like tape measures.

Win a truck: Lowe’s is also offering a chance for Lowe's for Pros account holders to enter to win a new 2021 Chevy Silverado. The vehicle will be packed with more than $3,000 worth of DeWalt tools. 

Free Christmas tree delivery: Beginning Friday, October 30, Lowe’s is offering free tree delivery and decorative items like fresh-cut wreaths and tree containers. The only caveat is that a shopper’s total purchase has to be over $45. 

Curbside pickup and other COVID-safe options: Lastly, coronavirus-cautious consumers can buy online and pick up their orders either in-store or curbside. Lowe’s is also offering new contactless self-service pickup lockers and direct-to-home delivery to make the shopping experience more flexible and convenient.

Recent studies have identified how the body’s immune response gets weaker with age, and now new research suggests that this process could happen faster than many people may realize. 

According to researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, young adults are more likely to experience severe symptoms from infectious diseases than children. 

“We know infants are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their immature immune systems, and the elderly are vulnerable due to immune deterioration. Surprisingly, little is known about how the response to infection changes between these age extremes,” said researcher Judith Glynn. 

Analyzing immune response

To understand how the body’s response to infections changes over time, the researchers analyzed information on over 30 different infections that spanned the era before vaccines and antibiotics through the present day. The severity of an infection was determined based on how many cases required hospitalization, how many cases ended in fatalities, and overall intensity of symptoms. 

The researchers learned that a trend emerged in terms of when the severity of infections peaks and dips. While infants are highly susceptible to a number of infections, illnesses tend to be less severe by the time they reach school age; however, that intensity spikes again around the age of 20 and peaks again in older age. 

This pattern was consistent for several infections that the researchers analyzed. Young adults experienced worse cases of chickenpox, tuberculosis, mononucleosis, and measles, among several other conditions. Infections like scarlet fever and Ebola were found to become more intense beyond the 20-year-old mark, while hepatitis and COVID-19 were found to increase with severity as consumers aged beyond 40. 

The researchers plan to do more work in this area to better understand why these associations exist, as it remains unclear why young adulthood is linked with such a high vulnerability to infectious diseases. 

“Extraordinarily, information on responses to infections by age has never previously been brought together for a wide range of infections, and the reasons for variation in severity outside the extremes of age have hardly been explored,” said Glynn. “Our results suggest peak immune response is reached during school-age, and then starts to drop off much earlier than currently thought, from as early as 15 years old in some cases. We also see age patterns in the immune response to some vaccines, in how the body handles some persistent viral infections, and in immune markers, that together support our interpretation.” 

The Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google, claiming the tech giant abused its industry dominance to suppress competition in online search and search advertising. 

The complaint was filed following a year-long antitrust investigation carried out by the DOJ. Eleven states -- Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and Texas -- joined the suit, according to the complaint.

Google has refuted claims that it uses its power to gain an edge over competitors. However, a major congressional report found earlier this month that Google and other big tech companies engage in anti-competitive tactics that are made possible through their “monopoly power.” 

The 450-page report alleged that Apple’s app store fees and policies are anti-competitive, Facebook’s strategic acquisitions were a way for it to get rid of rivals, and that Amazon has mistreated its third-party sellers. 

Anti-competitive behaviors

The complaint filed Tuesday by the Justice Department represents the biggest action the government has taken to limit the power of large technology companies.

"Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to -- not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives. We will have a full statement this morning,” Google said in a tweet from its public policy account. 

However, critics of the search giant contend that Google routinely prioritizes the promotion of its own apps and services while stifling those of competitors. 

"Google search is not a neutral gateway to the information available on the web," David Dinielli, a senior advisor at Omidyar Network and a former DOJ antitrust official, told CNN Business before the suit was announced. "Google search is a set of algorithms designed to make Google — or Alphabet, its parent company — the most money it can possibly make."

The case Google is now faced with could have a major impact on its advertising business as a whole, which netted it $134.8 billion in revenue last year. 

Coca-Cola is pruning its beverage portfolio and “retiring” some brands that haven’t sold well as consumer tastes have changed.

Among the brands disappearing from store shelves by Dec. 31 is TaB, a one-calorie diet soda introduced in 1963 when diet drinks were a rarity. It hung around for nearly 60 years but lost market share to today’s huge number of diet drinks, including Diet Coke.

Kerri Kopp -- group director, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola North America -- says TaB holds a place of distinction in the beverage world because it introduced consumers to a cola drink that contained almost no calories at a time when sugar-sweetened beverages were the norm.

“If not for TaB, we wouldn’t have Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar. TaB did its job,” Kopp said. “In order to continue to innovate and give consumers the choices they want today, we have to make decisions like this one as part of our portfolio rationalization work.”

Redeploying resources

Coke notes that significant changes have taken place in the zero-calorie sparkling beverage category in recent years, both in terms of its core consumer base and preferences. The company says retiring products like TaB makes it possible to invest in the more popular Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.

Retiring TaB also frees resources to invest in brands like Minute Maid and Simply while funding the launch of new products like Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Coca-Cola Energy, and AHA flavored sparkling water.

To free those resources, Coke is also retiring ZICO coconut water in the United States, as well as Coca-Cola Life and Diet Coke Feisty Cherry. Many regional beverages that Coke acquired over the years, like Northern Neck Ginger Ale and Delaware Punch, are also disappearing from the consumer landscape.

“We’re challenging ourselves to think differently about our brands to accelerate our transformation to a total beverage company,” said Cath Coetzer, global head of innovation and marketing operations at Coke. “This isn’t about paring down to a specific number of product offerings under our brands. The objective is to drive impact and growth.”

Coke says it was planning these changes to the company’s beverage lineup well before the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. But it says the pandemic prompted company executives to move faster, citing ongoing COVID-19 supply chain challenges and shifting shopping behaviors.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, more consumers than ever are using online banking. Yet a new survey shows banks in the U.S. and Canada are struggling to implement practices that combat online identity fraud and money laundering, without turning off their customers.

In an age of digital banking, the survey found that just over half of North American banks are still requiring customers to prove their identities by visiting branches or posting documents when opening digital accounts. 

The survey found the same situation in 25 percent of mortgages or home loans and 15 percent of credit cards opened online.

Rethinking their approach

"The pandemic has forced industries to fully embrace digital,” said Liz Lasher, vice president of portfolio marketing for Fraud at FICO, which commissioned the survey. “We now are seeing North American banks that relied on face-to-face interactions to prove customers' identities rethinking how to adapt to the digital-first economy."  

Andrew, of Scottsdale, Ariz., recently had this experience. In a post on ConsumerAffairs, Andrew told us that a fraud alert resulted in his Chase bank account being locked.

“I simply called their security department and was told it was closed out due to bank identity and that I would have to go into a branch and show 2 forms of ID's,” Andrew wrote in his post. 

Banks everywhere have instituted new procedures when fraud is suspected, a necessary measure considering the exponential growth of the crime. But Lasher says all banks should consider making the process as user-friendly as possible because it’s good for business in the long run.

"Today's consumers expect a seamless and secure online experience, and banks need to be equipped to meet those expectations,” she said. “Engaging valuable new customers, then having them abandon applications when identity proofing becomes expensive and difficult."

Slow to embrace digital verification

The study found that only 16 percent of North American banks use the type of fully integrated, real-time digital capture and validation tools that FICO says are required for consumers to securely open a financial account online. 

Some banks have adopted some form of digital verification, but the study found that in most cases, the experience “still raises barriers,” with customers expected to use email or visit an "identity portal" to verify their identities.

The authors suggest that banks create a “frictionless process” that will meet consumers' expectations. Failing to do so could lead to a loss of business.

According to FICO's recent Consumer Digital Banking study, 75 percent of customers said they would open a bank account online, but 23 percent of them would give up and go somewhere else if they faced a difficult or inconvenient identity verification process.

Three-quarters of the banks in the study told FICO they plan to invest in an identity management platform within the next three years.  

Hyundai Motor America is recalling 6,707 model year 2019-2020 Kona Electric vehicles.

The lithium ion battery may short-circuit after it is fully charged, increasing the risk of a fire.

What to do

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will update the Battery Management System (BMS) software and inspect the lithium ion battery, replacing it -- if necessary -- free of charge.

Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the repair is complete.

The recall is expected to begin December 11, 2020.

Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at (855) 371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 196.

There is still no agreement to provide financial aid to consumers and businesses dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19), and the clock is ticking. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has given the White House 48 hours to agree to a bill or she says talks will end until after the Nov. 3 election, which is just over two weeks away. Pelosi set the deadline following a one-hour phone conversation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the weekend.

Pelosi said the deadline is necessary in order to pass the legislation before the election. House members will soon leave Washington for last-minute campaigning before election day.

“The 48 only relates to if we want to get it done before the election, which we do,” Pelosi told ABC News. “We’re saying to them, we have to freeze the design on some of these things — are we going with it or not and what is the language? I’m optimistic because again we’ve been back and forth on all this.”

Pelosi said she and Mnuchin have agreed to resume their discussions later today. Apparently, the two sides are close to an agreement, with discussions now focusing on language contained in the bill. 

Getting closer on money

In terms of money, the two sides have been moving closer. Democrats in the House have scaled back their request to $2.2 trillion. The White House has increased what it is willing to spend to $1.8 trillion.

Sticking points holding up a deal have included Democrats’ demands for funding for state and local government and Republicans’ demands for liability protection for businesses during the pandemic.

What the leaders of both parties have agreed to is sending Americans another $1,200 stimulus payment and providing help for businesses, including the struggling airline industry.

Once House Democrats and the Trump administration agree on an aid measure, it also has to get through the Republican-led Senate. In the Senate, lawmakers have scheduled a vote this week on a much smaller relief measure that would spend $500 billion.

That measure would provide money for schools, increased unemployment benefits, and another round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for small businesses.

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 8,160,132 (8,123,273)

Total U.S. deaths: 219,765 (219,432)

Total global cases: 40,155,883 (39,792,256)

Total global deaths: 1,115,079 (1,111,498)

Worldwide cases now exceed 40 million

The number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases reported around the world went over the 40 million mark over the weekend, according to the semi-official tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has reported the most cases of any country with over 8,160,000.

The numbers are being fed by a second wave of cases of the virus that has engulfed Europe. Beginning in August, that wave has prompted some European governments to shut down some elements of their economies again.

The wave started later in the U.S. but appears to be gaining momentum, even in sparsely populated areas of the country that were spared the worst of the outbreak in the spring. Cases are rising at the fastest rate in the Midwest in states like Wisconsin and the Dakotas.

Time running out for pre-election stimulus

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), while hopeful Congress can pass a coronavirus stimulus bill before the Nov. 3 election, says time is running out.

Over the weekend, she set a Tuesday deadline for the Trump administration and House Democrats to agree on a package. If a deal isn’t struck by then, she says there won’t be time to get it done before the election.

Pelosi spoke for an hour by phone with Treasury Secretary Steven MNuchin on Saturday, and the two are reportedly planning to resume the conversation today.

CVS to hire 15,000 workers to help with pandemic

CVS Health says it is hiring 15,000 people at its stores to help the company continue to respond to the increasing needs of communities that will be dealing with the expected increase in COVID-19 cases this fall and winter.

The company said more than 10,000 of the positions are for full- and part-time licensed pharmacy technicians at CVS pharmacy locations. Those jobs will be filled as soon as possible.

"Additional team members typically are needed every flu season," said Lisa Bisaccia, chief human resources officer at CVS Health. "However, we're estimating a much greater need for trained pharmacy technicians this year given the continued presence of COVID-19 in our communities. These jobs offer a rewarding career opportunity, with flexible hours, advancement potential and a supportive environment while helping people on their path to better health."

Hospital executives worry about COVID-19 financial toll

The coronavirus has disrupted hospitals’ financial operations, and executives are worried it will get worse without an effective treatment and approved vaccine.

A new survey from Kaufman Hall found that a third of respondents saw operating margin declines in excess of 100 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same period of 2019. Well over half of respondents said they worry about the viability of their hospital without a vaccine.

"The challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected nearly every aspect of hospital financial and clinical operations," said Lance Robinson, managing director at Kaufman Hall. "Organizations have responded to the challenge by adjusting their operations and strengthening important community relationships."

Seventh inning stretch

Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb used a baseball analogy to describe where we are with the coronavirus. He said we’re probably in the “seventh inning” of the pandemic -- meaning we’re getting close to the end -- but he also said the hardest part may lie ahead.

“It looks like we’re entering a pretty difficult period right now,” Gottlieb told CNBC. “The cases are accelerating around the country. There’s really no backstop here.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House Coronavirus Taskforce, has a slightly different view, telling an interviewer that the U.S is not yet “on the road” to ending the pandemic.

Around the nation

• South Dakota: Realtors in the state are reporting a surge of people from other states seeking houses as the state draws people from more populated areas during the pandemic. At the same time, South Dakota is one of the upper Midwest states where coronavirus cases are on the rise.

• California: The pandemic, which has closed many businesses, may also be limiting rent increases in Southern California. Government data shows that rent costs rose by 2.6 percent in September, the lowest rate since 2014 

• Ohio: Ohio marked a happy milestone on Sunday with no reported deaths from COVID-19. The state also reported the fewest new cases since Tuesday.

The 2020 holiday season will probably be the weirdest one most of us have ever had, thanks to COVID-19. For one thing, holiday in-store traffic is predicted to be 25 percent lower than last year. 

The flip side of that is that more than 7 in 10 holiday shoppers plan to make most of their purchases online, up from 51 percent last year, according to a recent CreditCards.com survey. However, that single shopping shift could throw the whole fulfillment cycle into a tizzy, putting as many as 700 million gifts at risk of not arriving in time for the holidays, according to SalesForce.

To avoid disaster, consumers are going to have to make some changes to find a new pandemic-led holiday shopping comfort zone. To help ConsumerAffairs readers get a head start on rethinking their shopping plans, Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com, gave us tips on how to save money on holiday shopping this year.  

Tips for saving

There will be lots of ways to save money through online shopping, but it might take jumping through a few hoops. To get a better handle on what those hoops are, Rossman laid out the four most important elements consumers should start considering for the 2020 holiday season.

Use an online shopping portal. Rossman thinks that Rakuten, Dosh, and TopCashBack are great options for helping consumers save money. His reasoning is that retailers are willing to pay referral fees to these platforms when they bring in customers. “It’s targeted advertising, basically, and it means free money for consumers.”

Rossman may be onto something. When ConsumerAffairs checked out Rakuten, there were plenty of brands offering as much as 12 percent cash back. One brand taking full advantage of the situation was AT&T, which was offering up to $300 in reward cards with qualifying TV and internet when purchases were made online, plus up to $150 cash back.

One word of caution: ConsumerAffairs reader reviews of Rakuten run the gamut between “awesome” and “lesson learned.” But, to its credit, reviewers said Rakuten’s customer service team was proactive when it came to negative reviews in some cases.

Shop through your credit card issuer portal. From the credit card issuer's website, consumers can click through to a retailer’s website and shop normally while enjoying some added benefits and discounts. You can enter store-specific coupon codes, as usual, for even more savings. 

Take advantage of card-linked offers. “These are a close relative to online shopping portals, but better known by credit card brand names such as Amex Offers, Chase Offers and the Wells Fargo Earn More Mall. When you pay with the affiliated card, you’ll get money back,” Rossman said.

Check out your options for buyer protections. Take the time to find which credit cards offer the best extended warranties, purchase protections, price protections, and guaranteed return benefits.

Added incentives

If you have a good credit score, some credit card issuers are offering incentives to try and bring you into their fold. Rossman makes note of several signup bonuses available to consumers who meet the card issuer’s criteria. Two examples he gave were the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer signup bonuses, which were potentially worth $1,000. 

The only concern ConsumerAffairs sees is that these cards have a high spending threshold. For example, new Capital One Venture card holders can earn up to 100,000 bonus miles, but they have to spend $20,000 in purchases within the first 12 months of opening their account to get those bonus miles. Nonetheless, if you’re spending the money anyway, Rossman says it makes perfect sense to take advantage of these rewards.

There’s some hopeful news for the aviation industry in light of all the joy the pandemic has taken out of its life. Over the weekend (October 16-18), more travelers flew in the U.S. than at any other time since March 17.  

How many is more? The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened a million passengers at domestic airport checkpoints. On top of that, it also screened 6.1 million passengers at checkpoints nationwide from October 12 through October 18, which is a weekly high since mid-March.

TSA reminds fliers of new changes

To the millions of travelers who haven’t boarded a plane prior to the pandemic, flying has a whole bunch of new requirements. These include “significant TSA checkpoint modifications,” according to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein. 

The modifications Farbstein refers to are mostly added safety measures like passengers screening their own boarding passes and a reduction in the number of security lanes. Some other things to be mindful of include:

Hand sanitizer. Until further notice, the TSA is allowing travelers to bring hand sanitizer up to 12oz in their carry-on bags. “Just remember to remove the larger container from your bag and place it in a separate bin for screening,” the agency says, adding that fliers should “keep in mind that all other liquids, gels and aerosols brought to a checkpoint continue to be allowed at the limit of 3.4oz or less and carried in a single quart-sized bag.”

Expired Driver’s License and REAL ID extension. Because of the pandemic, some people were unable to renew their driver's license or state-issued ID if it expired on or after March 1, 2020. In those cases, the TSA will accept expired driver’s licenses or state-issued ID a year after expiration. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline to October 1, 2021. For specific information about the REAL ID deadline, the TSA has a dedicated website for travelers to reference.

Pre-moistened sanitized wipes. Another area the TSA is showing some flexibility in is the size restrictions on pre-moistened wipes inside carry-on bags. For the moment, “large tub, small tub, or in a baggie, pre-moistened wipes are allowed in carry-on bags without any size restrictions or packing requirements,” the TSA says. 

For a complete list of all changes that might affect a flight, check-in, security, or carry-on items, the TSA keeps an updated list that covers everything any flier needs to know. It’s available here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every facet of running a business. Although these trying times have made the future uncertain for many small businesses, experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have explored the tactics that have been effective for business owners in recent months. 

According to results from a recent survey of business owners, the researchers learned that having plans in place to handle natural disasters was beneficial for some businesses during the pandemic. However, different types of businesses have different needs, and there are still questions about the future as conditions continue to change. 

“The survey results can help by drawing attention to how small- and medium-sized businesses are thriving or suffering and showing where natural disaster planning and preparation helped,” said researcher Ariela Zycherman. “The results will also help us identify places where there are needs and opportunities to build social and economic resilience to multiple types of disasters.” 

Pros and cons of disaster planning

The researchers analyzed over 1,300 survey responses from business owners across several different industries. They reported on how the pandemic has affected their day-to-day business operations and detailed the plans they had in place prior to the pandemic to deal with natural disasters of any kind. 

Ultimately, nearly 25 percent of the survey respondents reported feeling prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic because of the disaster plans they had previously established. According to the researchers, this type of preparation involved working virtually and having an emergency fund of money. 

Though more than 75 percent of the businesses surveyed have put new plans in place since the start of the pandemic, more than 70 percent of respondents are worried about their pandemic-related business struggles being compounded by another serious event -- like a natural disaster. Another 20 percent of business owners are unsure if their operations will ever return to what they were before the start of the pandemic. 

Despite the uncertainty about the future, the survey also helped identify what business owners are looking for as they move forward. The researchers say the biggest takeaway is that business owners want clearer information that’s easily accessible so they can find out about the latest protective equipment guidelines, required trainings, and available financial assistance. 

The researchers plan to conduct another survey in the coming months to see how businesses continue to be affected by the pandemic and what trends emerge as we head into the winter months.

“I do think there will be more of a focus on understanding if there are certain attributes of the business, whether it be employee size or ownership demographics, that can correlate loosely with the kinds of support they’ve received or the places they’re asking for support,” said researcher Jennifer Helgeson. “Is it more about friends and family or is it about small-business loans? And how might this change if they experience a natural disaster during the pandemic?” 

To thank its workers who have persevered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Target will be giving out $70 million in bonuses as the holiday shopping season gets underway. The retailer said Monday that more than 350,000 of its hourly employees will get a $200 bonus by early November. 

“In a year like no other, I’m proud of what this team has accomplished and grateful for the care and connection they’ve provided our guests and communities,” Melissa Kremer, Target’s chief HR officer, said in a release. “Target’s success this year is a direct result of our team members turning our purpose into action and meeting our guests’ changing needs day after day.”

This isn’t the first round of bonuses Target has distributed amid the pandemic. In April, the retailer gave 20,000 of its team leads bonuses ranging from $250 to $1,500. In July, the company gave all full-time and part-time hourly employees a $200 bonus. 

Combined with the bonuses announced Monday, Target said it will have spent almost $1 billion more this year on employee pay. In addition to bonuses, the retailer has also added pandemic-related benefits like backup child care and permanently bumped its starting wages to $15 an hour. 

Thanking frontline workers

A number of large retail chains announced that they would be giving out bonuses this year to thank workers for putting their health at risk. However, only Target and Lowe’s have announced that more bonuses are coming ahead of the holiday season. This month, Lowe’s doled out an additional $100 million in bonuses to hourly employees.

Health officials say this year’s holiday shopping season could potentially coincide with an increase in COVID-19 cases. The CDC has warned that cases could rise as temperatures drop and people spend more time inside and around other people. 

According to the latest figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has reported the most COVID-19 cases of any country with over 8,160,000. 

Less than two weeks after banning TikTok in Pakistan, the country’s telecom authority has lifted the ban. Pakistan recently banned TikTok over the presence of “immoral and indecent” content on the short video app. 

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said it received “a number of complaints from different segments of the society” about problematic content on the app. Pakistan residents described some videos as “obscene” and “vulgar.”

The PTA said it gave TikTok several months to address its concerns about the content but that it “failed to comply with the instructions,” prompting it to move forward with a ban. 

On Monday, the Authority said it decided to lift the ban on TikTok after receiving assurances from TikTok’s senior management team that staff members would do a better job of moderating content in accordance with “societal norms and the laws of Pakistan.” TikTok officials said they would block users who demonstrated a pattern of posting “unlawful” content. 

The PTA warned that TikTok could be permanently blocked in Pakistan if it fails to actively moderate content on the app as promised.

“The restoration of TikTok is strictly subject to the condition that the platform will not be used for the spread of vulgarity/indecent content & societal values will not be abused. PTA will be constrained to permanently block the application incase said condition is not fulfilled,” the authority warned.

Instagram is being investigated by Europe’s lead regulator over the way it handles children’s personal information, the BBC reported Monday. 

The probe, which is being carried out by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), was launched in response to reports that Instagram offered business accounts to kids as young as 13 years old. Regulators are concerned that children’s email addresses and phone numbers may have been displayed publicly.

“Instagram is a social media platform which is used widely by children in Ireland and across Europe,” said DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle. “The DPC has been actively monitoring reports of issues received from individuals in this area and has identified potential concerns in relation to the processing of children's personal data on Instagram which require further examination.”

The DBC is looking into whether Instagram sufficiently protects personal data of children and whether it has restrictions in place to prevent exposure of that data. Facebook, Instagram’s owner, could face a fine of as much as four percent of its annual worldwide revenue if the app is found to have broken privacy laws. 

Privacy concerns

The probe stems from a 2019 report from David Stier, a data scientist who claimed that his analysis showed that Instagram offered “millions” of minors the option to change their profiles into business accounts in exchange for analytics information. 

The offer raises privacy concerns because switching to a business account requires the owner to display their phone numbers and email addresses publicly in the app. The information was also contained in the HTML source code of web pages, meaning it could be “scraped” by hackers.

In a Medium blog post, Stier accused Instagram of refusing to mask users’ email addresses and of not assigning an anonymized phone number, which “runs counter to the practice of nearly every website and app today.” 

Facebook rejects claims

A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC on Monday that it’s cooperating with the DBC, but it stated that Stier’s claims are based on a misunderstanding of its systems. 

"We've always been clear that when people choose to set up a business account on Instagram, the contact information they shared would be publicly displayed. That's very different to exposing people's information.” 

Facebook said it no longer embeds contact information in the source code of Instagram pages and that it has since added the option for users to opt out of including their contact information. 

"We've also made several updates to business accounts since the time of Mr Stier's mischaracterisation in 2019, and people can now opt out of including their contact information entirely."

Homeowners saw their net worth rise over the summer as home values increased at a pace not seen since the market recovered from the Great Recession.

Zillow, an online real estate marketplace, reports that the typical home value increased in September to $259,906. The 0.8 percent increase over August was the largest since November 2005, at the peak of the housing bubble.

For the third quarter, the typical home value increased by 2.2 percent, the biggest jump since 2013. On a year-over-year basis, values were up 5.8 percent, the largest increase in two years, according to Zillow researchers.

Because of that rapid rise, Zillow reports that listing prices and sales prices both registered double-digit year-over-year growth last month, suggesting buyers could face both higher prices and fewer choices going into the end of 2020.

"Home values are accelerating more quickly than any time since 2014, marking a sharp turnaround from a market briefly put on hold during the outbreak of the pandemic this spring," said Zillow’s senior economist Jeff Tucker. "The historic shortage of homes available for sale has boosted home price appreciation, now that buyers are waging bidding wars for the few options left.”

New home construction can’t keep up

There are several reasons for the current shortage of homes. Fewer people who currently own homes are selling. There are more people in the market right now who are deciding they need more indoor and outdoor space after being largely homebound during the pandemic.

But one of the biggest contributing factors is the decade-long slowdown in new home construction. Builders have built fewer homes since the financial crisis, a trend that is only beginning to turn around in the face of rising demand.

“Builders are racing to fill the gap, and we may see more listings next year if nervous sellers become reassured, but this shortage of homes is so deep that any reversal would take at least several months," Tucker said.

Potential slowdown

The forecast suggests that home sales reached a recent high point in September and will experience a temporary slowdown in the coming months. Seasonally adjusted final home sales are expected to retreat to pre-pandemic levels by January before resuming growth in the spring. After that, they’re projected to stay firmly above pre-pandemic volume through most of 2021.

A new report from Fannie Mae shows the housing market is one of the few bright spots in the 2020 economy, hit hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, says housing may help the economy recover to break-even status, with 2021’s economic growth balancing out 2020’s decline.

"Meanwhile, housing continues its multi-year theme of historic supply constraints,” Duncan said. “Strong demand-side drivers, including low mortgage rates and a surge of millennials looking to purchase homes, are contributing to significant home price appreciation, particularly as many older homeowners continue to age in place and other would-be home-sellers adopt a more conservative posture due to COVID-19 concerns, further limiting supply."

Suzuki Motor of America is recalling 2,040 model year 2018 GSX250R motorcycles.

The low and/or high beam headlight may fail, which can reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

The remedy is currently under development.

Suzuki mailed interim notifications informing owners of the safety risk October 9, 2020. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy is available.

Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at (844) 352-4921.