Here are 4 of the most common money mistakes couples make during their marriage:

Lack of Effective Communication

When couples do not talk about money issues on a regular basis, both halves of the couple are likely to be on two very different pages. In order for couples to effectively manage their money, they need to effectively talk about money matters every week. This communication should involve establishing a budget together for the household and setting spending limitations and guidelines. There are no right answers to how thing should be set up. It is up to the couple specifically to share their ideas and input equally.

Hiding Spending Secrets

As part of open and honest money communication, it is essential that couples not keep spending secrets. A big problem with joining incomes is the feeling of not being able to make independent financial decisions. This could be avoided by establishing cash allowances to each party to spend at their own discretion such as for surprise birthday gifts. Secrets about money can cause a lot of ill-will and bitter feelings. Open communication can allow for better, more effective money management when both parties have equal input.

Undiscovered Money Styles

Long before you head down the aisle, you and your spouse should have had some discussion about money personalities. People have different methods for dealing with their income and debts. If those personality styles clash, it can set up some big barriers in the marriage. Before you tie the knot, consider the best way for you and your partner to handle combining bank accounts and handling debts together. Otherwise you can expect issues down the road when neither of you is willing to compromise.

Inconsistent Expectations

Another component of communication where money is concerned is about both parties having appropriate expectations about money. It is important to find equal ground where short and long-term financial goals are concerned. Both parties should also voice their expectations where money matters are concerned such as how financial obligations and duties will be divided up and what methods will be used for saving, investing, and spending.

Money issues can start small but soon become a growing snowball of other problems. When money is already tight, disagreements about financial matters can get out of control. As stated, it is in your best interest to sit down with your intended and discuss crucial money matters during the time when you discuss other goals as a couple. While your financial goals may differ, there is always a way to find equal ground and be able to manage money together in an efficient and effective way.

4 Money Mistakes Common in Marriage was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

There are millions of Americans that have struggled with financial hardships at one time or another. There are still many households that are enduring even longer instances of money problems. Unfortunately in many of these cases the debt problems were there long before people were willing to admit to it. Early prevention could have saved many from a long debt struggle but few were able to realize they had a problem until it was way out of control.

Here are 5 considerations you need to make about the state of your finances to help you decide if you need to focus on debt help:

Making Barely the Minimum

If you find you have trouble coming up with even the minimum amount due on your various months’ bills, you may need to rethink your money management strategies. Financial experts recommend your total debt each month be no more than 20% of the income you bring home. If your debt totals more than you make, your financial situation is not likely to get any better. It is time to increase your income to get a better handle on your debts. If you can’t make even the minimum payments, you will need to start cutting costs in other areas of your budget to focus on debt payoffs.

Reckless Credit Spending

Too often people consider their credit card limits as an extension of their income. They spend on credit without having the cash back up which will enable them to pay off credit card balances in full each month. Spending on plastic can easily get out of control and if you are using credit cards just to get by, you are heading down a path of debt problems, potentially for many years to come.

Ignore Budgeting Limitations

If you give up on your budget or fail to start one in the first place, it may be due to the fact you can face your money issues. A budget it supposed to be enacted to ensure you stay within your spending limits. If money is too tight, it can be easy to dispose of the budget with excuses that it doesn’t work. The reality is that in order to get a handle on your money affairs you need to construct a budget and stick with it, even if it cuts out all of your spending money for a few months.

Acquiring New Lines of Credit

If you find you have maxed out your lines of credit and start applying for new accounts, you are certainly in over your head. if your credit score has not yet suffered due to your financial problems, you may be able to get additional new accounts. However, too many applications for credit will start to sink your credit score. Your new accounts may come with lower credit limits and higher fees, meaning you’ll pay more than you can afford for the new accounts and start ruining your credit at the same time.

You Tell Fibs

If you find you have been telling white lies about your financial situation to people in your inner circle that express concern, you may need to sit down and confront yourself. Debt is not a problem that will go away if ignored. It will actually grow bigger and more problematic. Do not let pride or embarrassment get in the way of getting help when you need it. Admitting you have debt problems will be the hardest part but once you ask for help you can turn the situation around within a few months’ time if you put forth the effort and get a handle on your finances once and for the long-term.

Do I Have a Debt Problem? 5 Tips for Evaluating Your Situation was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

If you are seeking a loan, make sure your credit history is in good standing before seeking a lender. This way you will be assured to receive the most options and favorable terms for your loan. Once you have confirmed your own financial profile is strong, it will be time to conduct some due diligence about your potential lender.

Here are five questions to ask your lender before committing to a loan. There may be additional questions you have pertaining to your specific situation but these questions will get you started in the right direction:

What Is the Loan Requirements/Process?

Before you start completing paperwork, it is important to contact a few lenders to see your options before committing to a loan. You should inquire about the lending requirements they have set including minimum credit score and income amounts. You should also ask about the loan process so you’ll have sufficient expectations for getting your money.

How Is the Interest Payment Calculated?

When you secure a loan, it is vital to understand the interest rate you will be paying back. If you aren’t careful, you can end up paying more in interest than you do on the actual loan. This is especially true with mortgages. Your interest rate will be determined mostly based on your credit history but you need to be sure you ask the lender how the interest will be calculated. Not all lenders use the same calculation and what you don now can hurt you financially

How Does the Repayment Play Out?

When you take out a loan, be assured it must be paid back. How you pay it back is an important consideration. You’ll need to confirm how much is due each month and how long the term of the loan stands. Some lenders will require a direct payment from your bank account while others will allow checks or online payments. Be sure you know your due date, the length of grace periods before a payment is considered late, and if you are allowed to repay your loan early. Some lenders impose penalties for early payoffs because they lose out on interest.

Is Activity Reported to the Credit Bureaus?

Not all lenders will report back to the credit bureaus with your repayment activity so it is in your best interest to ask first. When a lender reports prompt payment information to the credit reporting bureaus, it keeps your credit record up to date and can improve your credit score provided you keep up the prompt payments.

What Happens if I Skip a Payment?

While no one expects financial hardships to come, they often do happen from time to time. If you are having trouble making your loan payment during a month or for a longer stretch of time, you’ll need to know what happens if you go delinquent on your account. You’ll need to understand the consequences as well as the fees associated with late or missed payments.

5 Pieces of Information You’ll Want from Your Lender was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Your health is obviously important but what you may not realize is just how much damage your money problems are causing. People who struggle on a weekly or even daily basis to stretch their paychecks and support their families may have developed health concerns that are specifically related to money issues.

Here are some issues you need to consider about your finances, your health, and your future:

Stress Can Kill

Never underestimate the power of stress. If you battle ongoing stress over money matters in your daily life, you can be doing some serious damage to your heart, nerves, and overall immune system. Being stressed out on a long-term basis will eventually lead to more serious health conditions, including death. Stress often takes a toll over a long period of time without major recognizable symptoms. It is important to find ways to reduce stress in your life such as through exercise and hobbies you enjoy.

Missed Health Checkups

Many people cut costs in order to get by during hard financial times. One cost they often cut first is annual visits to their doctor, especially if they lack insurance coverage and can’t afford the cost of the visit. It is very important to your health to stay in touch with your doctor and make sure you are having your health evaluated, especially if you are enduring a lot of stress in your life. Missed health checkups on a regular basis can result in missed opportunities for an early diagnosis of a medical condition.

Missed Medications

It is no secret that medicine is expensive. For those that do not have prescription coverage for importance maintenance medication, paying the monthly costs can be near-impossible. However, neglecting to take prescribed medicines as directed by your doctor can have adverse effects on your health and lead to even more expensive medical problems down the line.

New Health Developments

Sometimes financial matters in your personal life can become so out of control, your mental health suffers as a result. There are increased statistics of suicides and even criminal acts by people who felt alone in their financial hardship. It is important to seek treatment and a proper diagnosis when you begin to feel overwhelmed and out of control. Without maintaining a healthy outlook on life, you can put yourself at risk for making poor decisions. There are free resources for mental health care and those who worry about being overwhelmed with their daily lives should seek help.

Growing Debts

If you do not pay attention to your health and find ways to reduce the amount of stress you are under, you are likely going to end up with even bigger debts when you can no longer go on without a medical intervention. If you suffer a heart attack or other stress-related situation, you will add medical bills and extended treatment costs to your already-overwhelming debt loads. Serious medical complications can also put you out of work for a long period of time which means you have even less income to work with.

Don’t neglect your health. You can start contributing to a separate savings account using funds from each paycheck. Even if you are putting $5 or $10 a week into the account, you can build up a nice little backup funding source when medical emergencies strike. This fund should be allowed to continue growing and only used for medical expenses especially if you have a family history of medical complications. You can also seek additional assistance in your local community where free or low-cost services are available to ensure you and your family gets the health care needed on a regular basis and prevent mounting medical debts associated with untreated and undiagnosed medical conditions.

Why Health Is an Important Factor in Your Finances was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

It can be highly frustrating to feel like you are taking to a brick wall when it comes to contacting company representatives. It can be downright aggravating when you still don’t get the results you hoped for from a company you used to like. Here are some tips for dealing with poor customer service as well as how to move forward with more success:

Be Courteous If Expecting Courtesy

If you expect a company representative to treat you well, you must offer the same courtesy. When making a first contact, wait until you have calmed down if you are particularly riled up. Be concise in your explanation of the problem and treat the person on the other end of the conversation with respect. Even if the customer representative gets out of control, do what you can to maintain your composure. As the saying goes ‘you get more flies with honey than vinegar’.

Take Notes

If things start to go downhill fast and you don’t foresee a positive outcome, start taking detailed notes including the time of your call, the name of the person you are speaking to, and details of the representative’s responses. These notes will help you recall details at a later time if you have to pursue further action.

Go Higher

If you find things with the customer service representative is not going in a positive way, ask to speak with a supervisor immediately. If the representative is unwilling to transfer your call or becomes hostile, just hang up the phone and place another call. Since many companies have call centers, you likely will not get the same person again. Ask immediately to speak to a manager or supervisor and then detail your initial issue as well as the problem you had with the company representative in the previous phone call.

Write a Professional Letter

There are many stories of consumers who were so unhappy with a product or service they took it all the way to the top by writing a letter to the attention of the company president or owner. In many cases, the upper management had no idea how bad things were in the way of customer service and appropriate action was taken. While there is no guarantee your letter will be read, be sure it is professional-looking and details the specific situation rather than filled with foul-mouthed, choice words. The Internet will often provide you with a direct contact address for the higher-ups at a company.

Be Proactive

Don’t dismiss the importance of quality customer service when looking into a new product or service. When comparison shopping, take the time to place a phone call into the company and ask a few questions. You can use your gut instincts to judge which company would be helpful in a problematic situation and which company is poorly represented by their customer assistance staff. You want to make sure the companies where you take your business will be ready and willing to take you seriously when you need help.

How to Deal With Poor Customer Service was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Here are some tips for using a credit card to your financial advantage:

Make Small Purchases

One of the reasons consumer debt on credit cards soared is because people failed to use credit cards wisely. They made big purchases they couldn’t afford because they mistakenly considered their credit limit as an extension of their income. The right way to use a credit card effectively is to make a few small purchases during the month and pay off those purchases before the end of the billing cycle. Never apply for a line of credit simply because you want more spending freedom.

Stash the Cash Equivalent

When you make the small monthly purchases on your credit card, place the cash value of the purchase into an envelope or your bank account. This will ensure you can cover the full balance when the bill comes due. Resist the urge to use the stashed cash for any other purpose or you may find yourself unable to meet your financial obligations.

Create a Spending Budget

One of the first basic rules of personal finance requires that all consumers establish a workable budget and stick with it. For consumers with credit cards, this means you can’t spend on credit what is not in your budget.

Assign Cards a Purpose

The most effective method for using a credit card to improve your credit score and get the incentives you want from the card is to assign different purposes to different credit cards. If you have three credit cards, put one to the side to use for emergencies only. Utilize another for gasoline purchases or groceries. The third card can be solely used for online purposes. Not only does it make it easier to do your monthly expense tracking, you also can pinpoint episodes of fraud faster and you’re entire financial life will not be frozen at the same time if something goes wrong.

Never Miss a Payment

When you start using a credit card for purchases, it can be a good idea to set up automated payments to come out of your bank account each month. This lessens the chance you will forget to make a payment. Late or missed payments can drop a credit score significantly, especially if it happens more than once. It also means you will pay late fees, penalties, and finance charges. On the reverse side, by making regular and consistent full payments on your credit cards, the information will be reported back to the credit reporting agencies and improve the calculation of your three-digit score.

After Debt Paid Don’t Close Accounts

Make paying off existing credit card debts a priority by allocating as much money as you can to pay off balances. It may mean making sacrifices but the further you can reduce your credit card balances, the better your credit will get over time. Once you have eliminated the full balance, make sure you do not close the account. Doing so will change the ratio of available credit and can be especially detrimental if the account you close is the one you’ve had open for the longest period of time.

How to Utilize Credit Cards to Boost Credit Score was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

More banks have imposed new fees or increased existing fees that customers happily pay because they just don’t realize what has happened. Federal regulations on banks have caused the institutions to lose a tremendous amount of profits and as a result, higher costs have been passed on to customers. Banks are hoping to recoup their major loss in profits but are offering little in the way of incentives to the customer.

Here are some tips for reconsidering your business of banking that you can use to evaluate and make the necessary transitions:

Read Disclosures

Banks that make changes to customer accounts must give written notice of their intent. Unfortunately, many consumers fail to properly review or even read any correspondence from their bank, including their regular monthly statements. Disclosures contain a lot of fine print but it does provide an updated and accurate look at how your bank account is changing.

Review Your Statements

Luckily most banks now give customers online access to previous monthly statements. Take the time to log in and review these statements. You may be surprised at the new or increased fees you have been paying for services you often use. These increased fees many include ATM usage, checking account fees, and higher overdraft charges. Keep track of these new fees and add them up over a year’s time. You may find you can not afford to bank with your present institution.

Check Your Reliance

You may be surprise at how many times during the month you utilized bank services that cost you money. You may also find that you do not rely on your bank in a way that justifies the higher cost. Check how much you are paying and decide if it’s really worth it to stay where you are.

Speak with the Branch Manager

Brick and mortar banks have a manager on duty to help you clarify the changes taking place at your bank. If you are not aware of how recent federal regulations have affected your account, seek out the manager and discuss the issues you have or the questions you want to ask. Another recent to speak to a manager is to air out your complaints about recent changes to your account. Some banks may be willing to hang on to loyal customers are will offer a better deal or waive costs in order to keep you happy.

Go Elsewhere

If you have reviewed your banking services and decide that another bank may be in order, it is wise to research all of your options. Outside of the other large banks, consumers may receive better, more cost-efficient service from a local community bank or a credit union. Do your homework to find a better facility to handle your money. If your present bank is not willing to compromise, don’t hesitate to transfer your finds elsewhere.

Reconsider How You Bank: Tips for Making a Change was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Here are some ways to start revising a budget that is effective starting on the first day of a new year:

Gather Your Income Statements and Receipts

Starting before the rush of the holiday season will not only get you on track for the upcoming year, it can also help you plan for a more cost-effective holiday. Start during the fall months to collect your income statements from work and any other income you receive. Use that as a guide for how much you are expected to make in a year. You’ll need both the information and documentation for tax time and preparing this early will make it less likely you forget information. Use the list of expenses, both deductible and non-deductible to get an idea of how much of your income you spend and on what.

Create a Fresh Start

While you can use your former budget as a reference, it can help to restart a brand new budgetary sheet for the new year. Rather than just copy all of the categories you’ve used in the past, review your previous budgeting sheet to see where you can make cuts for the next year. Sometimes it takes seeing the big picture to truly understand the priority of cutting costs and sticking to a budget.

Review Your Year

There may have been times during the previous year where you were strapped for cash and came up short for the bills. Take the time to see where you struggled – are there any months in particular that were hard? You can then readjust your savings plan after making budget cuts to ensure you don’t have to go through money problems again for the coming year.

Resolve to Be Frugal

Since the holiday shopping season is a critical time of self-control in personal finance, it is also a great time to learn new ways to adapt to a more frugal lifestyle. Plan for the next year with frugality in mind by researching new ways to save on the biggest expenses you have within your budget such as grocery shopping, insurance costs, and transportation expenses. By pre-planning there is less pressure to make changes right now and you may be more apt to look at all of your options.

Review Your Services

You may have mindlessly paid your bills throughout the year without much thought to your actual satisfaction with services. Consider the changes to the banking industry in the last few months. Many bank customers are now paying more than ever for banking services that used to be free. The same is true of many service providers so take time during the last few months of the old year to evaluate the cost and customer satisfaction of the various services you pay for over the course of a year. Make the necessary changes to put more funds into savings for the new year and make your budget easier to commit to for the next twelve months.

How to Start Your Budget for a New Year was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Following Bank of America, other large lenders began to follow suit after programs updated the guidelines including Citigroup (NYSE: C), JP Morgan Chase (NSE: JPM), and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC). All of these lenders currently hold about half of the fixed mortgages in the United States. The initiative was started last August. Its intent was to help those homeowners who were afraid to take a loss on their first mortgage if the holder of the second mortgages would not. Borrowers were staying on track with their second mortgages however so the lenders were not as willing to take losses.

Consumers are concerned about what to do when unable to pay both the first and second mortgages on their home. The government now has the second mortgage program, known as the 2MP, which offer incentives to borrowers, investors, and lenders to modify the second mortgages. The programs works when a borrower’s first loan is modified under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the servicer of the second loan also participates in HAMP, the servicer must offer to modify the borrower’s second mortgage. Eligibility also requires the second loan must have originated on or before January 1, 2009.

Modification of a mortgage with a second lien can be harder than just with the first mortgage, especially if the second mortgage is with another lender. Getting all involved to agree on interest rate reductions and other modifications make it a time-intensive process. With the new government program, the process should be easier to go through, allowing homeowners to get more affordable monthly payments.

Nearly 50% of at-risk mortgage holders also hold a second lien. The program is estimated to get more than 1.5 million homeowners involved but assistance will be limited.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Okayed Second Mortgages for Adjustment was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The price cut is effective for song singles and is not a new promotion. However, Amazon did upgrade the site and now dedicates an entire page to the 200 songs currently being sold for 69-cents. Roughly 15 million songs are available in total but a limited amount of tunes have been reduced to the lower price.

At the time of announcement by Amazon, some of the country’s top artists were in the discount bin including Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry. Amazon hopes that by continuing to keep prices low on Top 40 titles, music sales will receive a boost and the website’s music store will continue to improve in traffic numbers.

Currently, Apple’s iTunes music stores leads the market in digital downloads but Amazon is confident the discounted music is a bold step but one in the right direction. They are hopeful they will increase their competitiveness with Apple and lure some of iTunes customers away over time.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Launches 69-Cent Music Store was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The Amazon website issued an apology to customers and admitted to having lost customer data due to its technical problems. The company has even offered a 10-day credit to customers who experienced additional technical problems with their websites. Amazon vows to learn from the experience to ensure the continually upgrade the way they do business.

The outage causing the server crash occurred outside of Washington near the Dulles Airport. The outage was noted to be caused by several complicated issues but ultimately was the result of human error during a traffic shift that was performed incorrectly. Many of the affected computers become frozen in recovery mode.

Amazon plans to investigate its process when making system changes to decrease the risks of the same kind of situation from happening again.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Speaks Out About Server Meltdown was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The release of the video and chat features will accompany the release of the new Samsung Nexus S smartphone. Owners of the Nexus S will be able to get a software update in the next couple of weeks. After the over the air update has been completed, users can begin using the Google Talk Chat option.

Unfortunately, users who are not running the latest version of Android on their phone which is the Version 2.3, will not be able to access or use the new Chat features. According to research, only a small amount of Android platform phones in the US will be capable of using the feature because of the ongoing problem of software-version fragmentation, meaning not all Android users are current on their platform versions on even recently purchased phones. Out of date software has been a scourge for many mobile users.

Many providers are assuring customers that an upgrade is forthcoming. However, other users will be out of luck and unable to access any kind of update at all due to the hardware limitations on older model phones. Sometimes technology continues to move faster than its own good.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) To Introduce Voice/Video Chat for Android was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The provisions mean they can not be foreclosed upon for their overdue mortgages. Additionally, service members who are reassigned can cancel a lease and if they incur any debts during the time they are serving, the debts can not accrue more than a 6% interest rate. Interest fees over that amount can be forgiven in their entirety.

Bank of America is looking to improve the benefits being offered to military members by extended benefits after soldiers have returned from active military duties. Currently, the 2003 Service Members Civil Relief Act only covers the time up until active duty ends.

Bank of America plans to cap their interest rates at just 4% and will keep the protections in place for military members up to a year after they have been discharged from service. Homeowners who are looking to refinance will also receive additional support resources from the bank which are only available to military service members. Military service members who are experiencing financial hardships due to their mortgages, especially those upside-down on the loan, will not be subjected to foreclosure. However, that provision ends once a soldier leaves active duty.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Extends Aid for Service Members was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

In addition to the push for growth and job stability, Citigroup also wants to stay focused on the reorganization of its credit card division and the retail banking businesses located in the United States. This is a good step in the right direction for the bank who had to cut down on their employee counts. The bank also lost many employees to competitive banks during the extensive layoffs during their extended financial crisis.

Since the employee loss, Citigroup was ranking behind other banks in its business, including in the investment banking sector, where they continue to remain in seventh place in revenue.

It is good news for the industry unemployed who are still hard-pressed to find work after the banking industry meltdown. With 500 jobs on the horizon, there may be increased hope that other banks will also be re-strengthening their business growth and looking to hire more staff in the near future.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) Set to Hire 500 New Employees was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The move will take checks out of the equation and replace the archaic system with direct deposit. Currently 85% of beneficiaries get Social Security monies through bank direct deposits. The measure was introduced to prevent check fraud as a consequence of stolen checks. It will also help the government reduce the cost associated with issuing replacement checks.

It is estimated that the Treasury department will save over $1 billion within a ten year time frame by eliminating the paper check system. Additionally benefit recipients will receive their monthly payments in a safer, more efficient manner. It is also estimated that 12 million pounds of paper will be saved in the first five years which is good news for the environment as a whole.

For those still eligible to receive checks (about 10 million), they will have a two year window to make the change from paper checks to electronic deposits and all accounts will receive direct deposits effective March 1, 2013. The monies being deposited will be accessible on the payment date of each month with no wait for the US postal service to deliver their checks.

In light of the various identification scams and check cashing frauds, the direct deposit method may be the ideal tactic to keep benefit recipients safe from identity theft and other fraudulent hassles.

Social Security Adminstration Plans to Eliminate Paper Checks was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

It is predicted that families will not survive without opportunities for increased income. However, research shows that US workers are stuck between a rock and a hard place due to the lack of income-earning opportunities for the unemployed and the unlikely ability to be awarded raises at their current job. Manufacturing appears to be the only industry getting progressively healthier.

Analysts believe that the job market will continue to rebound and as American workers gain access to higher paying jobs and income increases, the consumer spending numbers will also go up. But right now Americans are finding it hard to increase their current spending amounts because they have to fork over the extra cash to make the commute in to work and feed their families. As of this week, regular fuel was averaging around $3.89 a gallon which is the highest pricing recorded since August 2008. Food costs are also a burden with costs rising 0.8% in just the last month which is the biggest increase seen since July 2008.

Consumer Spending Increased in March Thanks to Rising Prices was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The initial lawsuit against Apple involves the cache of location data that is backed up onto mobile user’s computers. The information is unencrypted but hidden from regular user access on iPads and iPhones but if someone where to physically access the devices, they could get the information which can be used to track users. It is alleged that the activities would lead to violation of privacy rights.

Apple did admit to the collection of GPs coordinates for WiFi base stations and cell towers to expand its database of users for anonymous diagnostic data which is encrypted. The way the data is collected does not allow Apple to track its users.

Android devices of Google were found to collect location data from users every few seconds and Google was found to receive the information several times in an hour. The difference between their data collection and Apple’s is that the information has a unique identification number attached to the data. The ID is provided randomly and can’t be linked to particular users or their devices.

The Detroit residents who filed the Google class action lawsuit have concerns about Google receiving so much user data in an hour and allege that the data being sent is not encrypted, prompting security and privacy concerns. The specific concerns alleged involved stalking as was mentioned n the complaint. The defendants believe Google has violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in addition to breaking several state laws concerning consumer protection.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Facing $50M Lawsuit Over Tracking was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The cuts in workforces are the latest attempt to reorganize the USPS. It is expected that $750 million will be saved in a year with the scheduled downsizing. For now, the offices scheduled to close are located in Columbus, OH, South Georgia, Albuquerque, Big Sky, South East New England, South East Michigan, and Northern Illinois.

The downsizing going on within the system were the result of the ongoing evaluations concerning the proposal to eliminate Saturday customers delivery of US Mail. Currently, there is debate on the elimination plans as mail delays can be up to two or more days, which may adversely affect recipients.

The US Postal Service has been recording significant losses and are hoping to find ways to cut expenses and save more money. Proposed plans for five-day a week service and a reduced workforce are the strategies being discussed to beat the $8.5 billion losses reported during 2010. 2011 losses are predicted to range around $6.4 billion. The financial losses are being blamed on the declining volume of mail across the country and the state of the nation’s economy.

A total of 2,000 local post offices are scheduled to close within the next two years according to a plan announced by the USPS this past January. Executives and administration are undergoing buyout procedures where employees over the age of 50 who have at least twenty years of postal service are being offered $20,000. Employers are also eligible for the buyout if they have 25 or more years of service regardless of their age. 105,000 full-time positions have already been cut in the last two years which include clerk positions, mail handlers, and plant workers.

US Postal Service Set to Cut 7,500 Jobs was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The executives of Bank of America were discussing an increase in dividends with the announcement that a ‘new era’ has begun at the bank who has faced much criticism and financial issues in the last several months. But while the party at the Plaza Hotel was festive, the Federal Reserve has actually put the kibosh on plans to increase dividends during the second part of 2011.

Bank of America has been working overtime trying to bring back the confidence of shareholders after a struggle of up and downs. The veto of dividend increase plans by the federal government has caused a setback for the bank. Other banks have also had their plans nixed for increasing investor payouts as regulators continue to resist.

Neither Bank of America nor the Federal Reserve would comment publicly about why the increase proposal was rejected. The Reserve also would not common on how banks in general scored during their most recent examination. Analysts suggest that Bank of America still faces big problems.

Capital One Financial and MetLife were just two of the other financial institutions not participating in announcements on dividend increases for shareholders. While other banks have issued such announcements, MetLife and Capital One would not make any comments about their communication with the Federal Reserve nor would they discuss the outcome from their recent stress tests with the government.

Bank of America does have plans to provide the Federal Reserve with a new proposal concerning dividend distribution and said they will continue to work with the Reserve to get approval for increased dividends during the second part of 2011.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Dividend Meeting Left Out Feds was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Natural disasters are a cause for which General Motors provides financial assistance to victims through its GM Foundation for over 30 years. They were involved in the earthquake recovery efforts in New Zealand and Haiti and participated in the support of victims during severe flooding episodes in the States, including Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Chairman of the GM Foundation, John T. Montford releaseda statement regarding GM’s part in relief assistance:

“Humanitarian relief is an important part of the Foundation’s work and we’re answering the call for help in the wake of such terrible devastation. There is remarkable compassion among GM employees, and I know that same spirit will make a difference in helping the Japan relief effort.”

General Motors is the first automaker in the United States to offer contributions to the relief efforts of Japan’s recovery. Together with Toyota, Honda, and Nissan large donations continue to climb in an effort to provide help to the victims. So far Mitsubishi and Subaru, both affected by the earthquake and tsunami have not announced any plans yet officially.

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Verizon customers will be billed at $0.00 for calls from residential landlines to Japan. Those who have the Verizon World Plans will not be subjected to minutes usage during that time. Customers using prepaid phone cards from Verizon will not incur long-distance charges to Japan from the US during March 11-April 10. Additionally, subscribers to the FiOs TV network who do not currently have a subscription to the TV Japan will be able to access the channel location (1770) for free through March 17.

In addition to the free calling/texting offering by Verizon, users of the network can also be instrumental in donating funds to the Red Cross Relief efforts going on in Japan. Users can donate $40 to the American Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 90999. There is also a donation hub set up to support relief efforts of other organizations including the Salvation Army (text JAPAN to 80888) and the Save the Children Federation (text JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222). Texting donations is a convenient way for mobile users to support legitimate causes and relief efforts.

In addition to Verizon’s efforts, AT&T (NYSE:T) is offering ‘billing relief’ for calls made to Japan between now and March 31. The relief means that wireless customers will not be charged for international calls to Japan from the US or Puerto Rico during this time frame. Once customers receive their monthly billing statement, customers can contact the carrier and have their billing statement adjusted for up to 60 minutes of talk time. Text messages sent to Japan will also not incur a charge provided they originated from an US wireless number.

In addition to AT&T and Verizon, a host of other carriers including T-Mobile, Sprint, and Comcast are also issuing similar offerings to customers.

Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T) Offering Free Texts, Calling to Japan was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Competitor AT&T (NYSE: T) has been having many technical difficulties with their network so Apple has not been exactly surprised by the steady increase. The number of users making the switch within a month’s time has indeed been impressive but there is no way to tell exactly how many customers AT&T will continue to lose. There are a number of influencing factors involved including the customers who will wait for the next phone upgrade or those who must wait out the end of the contracts.

Verizon is hopeful they can continue to bring more iPhone users to their network but only time will tell if this increase will continue since the iPhone for Verizon has only been on the US market for a little over a month. To date, an ad agency has set up a tracking system that is able to determine how many of AT&T users are showing up on Verizon’s network. The tracker was launched into play a day after Verizon began selling the iPhones to consumers and the statistics include older model iPhones.

As for AT&T, there are plans in the works for moving to LTE for the 4G network later in the year. IT will be the same broadband used by Verizon’s 4G network but it is expected that both carrier’s network will remain independent and either user will not be capable of roaming on each others networks. As AT&T continues to work on their network issues and since AT&T smartphone sales are limited without a contract, it is likely Verizon will continue to get their wishes in increasing their smartphone market share.

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There is anticipation to see how the 4G network runs especially in light of the problems AT&T (NYSE: T) experienced when it was discovered their 4G network was running slower than certain 3G devises on the AT&T network. Company reps at AT&T claim they had not yet turned on the fast functionality at the time due to its continued testing of the network

It is expected the device will be sold with an unlimited data plan for $250 with the required two year plan. Unlimited data plan are starting at $29.99. The unlimited data plan may be changing by the summer. Watchers suspect that the offering of unlimited plans is Verizon’s lure to bring new customers in. If usage among consumers is as high as the Apple counterparts, there may too big of a burden placed on Verizon to continue offering unlimited packages.

Thunderbolt will come loaded with media and services for entertainment which have be optimized for use on the LTE. The Android service also includes many Google products for mobile phones. Free mobile hotspot services will remain free for users until the middle of May. Verizon has not yet announced the pricing structure going beyond that time frame.

The Thunderbolt was debuted at the CES show in January. AT the time, Verizon displayed 10 LTE devices which included four different handsets. This indicates that at least three more handsets to be forthcoming in the year. For now, users will not be able to gauge the functionality of other models on the 4G network until more are released.

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A statement released by Apple’s spokesperson reads:

‘We are delaying the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan while the country and our teams focus on recovering from the recent disaster. Our hearts go out to the people of Japan, including our employees and their families, who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy.’

The US saw the iPad2 launch on March 11. Japan’s unveiling was scheduled for March 25. The planned release was also supposed to occur in 25 other countries in addition to Japan including the UK, Canada, and Germany.

There has been no follow up announcement as to when Apple plans to release the devise in Japan. It is possible there will be a long-term delay and Apple will choose to distribute the devices intended for the country to other locations since the demand for the iPad2 has been high while the supply has been short in the US.

Apple has also upped their efforts to aid the victims of the natural disaster in Japan. They have already started working with the Red Cross to promote consumer donations through the iTunes Store website. It has also been reported that the Apple Store in Japan has been providing shelter, food, and electricity to victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

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The panel had calculated the total amount of federal aid each bank had received during the bailout from TARP ($25 billion), the Federal Reserve ($88 billion), and the FDIC ($68.6 billion). Citigroup topped the list with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) in a close second at $336.1 billion received. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) came in third place with $135 billion in federal aid.

The Oversight panel was put together by Congress as a way to supervise TARP funds. The panel is expected to cease its operations within the week. It still has to put out its final report on the bailout of the financial sector. In general, the panel was positive about the government’s attempts to stabilize the global financial system and avoid a second Great Depression. While TARP did provide much of the necessary support in the efforts, it is not the only resource deserving credit.

One large criticism of the TARP program from the panel involved the issuance of billions of dollars to financial institutions without the requirement of banks reporting how the money was used. The result is that no one will ever be sure of how that money was spent. This occurred in the early days of the TARP assistance movement.

Additional criticism allege that the TARP program created a dangerous scenario where banks were not worried about loss as they expected taxpayers will bear the burden of any losses incurred. There was also concern expressed over the Treasury’s intervening assistance to the automotive industry since they were not directly working in the financial system. It was felt the risk in doling out funds to the auto industry had too much failure potential.

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Even the debts that stand late at 30 days or more have been declining each month. It is good news as the default data is an indicator of how defaults will play out in the future. Card payers seem to be eliminating balances racked up during the holiday shopping season for all major credit card providers across the board.

For Bank of America, the news is much different than it was in August 2009 when the bank had to write off 14.53% annualized of its consumer credit card debt. It also appears the card holders are getting more focused on eliminating credit card balances consistently. With the lowest default rates the bank has seen in three years, there is hope for US consumers staying on top of revolving debt. The national average of credit card balances has also dropped from $799.7 billion in December 2010 to $795.5 billion in February. Those statistics are similar to the numbers in the fall of 2004.

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In the emails from Balboa, the Anonymous poster claimed over Twitter that fraud is alleged due to the bank hiding foreclosure information from federal auditors. There were also other allegations of wrongdoing by the bank made but no specifics were provided.

A former Balboa employee has stated that certain documents were approved to be removed from the internal system because of errors pertaining to flood insurance. The employee stated the bank had approved the file removal so that the mistakes would not be detected by federal auditors. In the emails, employees were apparently discussing the reasoning behind the documentation deletion.

Bank of America did not deny the emails existed but they did take issue with wrongdoing implications. They claim the former employee of Balboa stole the documents and was essentially trying to get press over allegations that were not true. The employee contests he did not steal the documents.

The bank also said they did not send out the letters with the errors. However, another employee of Balboa insists they were sent out with the erroneous information and a subsequent letter was sent to clear up the mistakes.

Bank of America is still waiting for the damaging documents said to be coming from WikiLeaks. Founder Julian Assange has promised these would be available early in the year and would cause much damage to the bank.

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The company announced it will be recalling Sudafed 24-Hour Extended Release  products which are sold on a wholesale level. The tablets were sold in packages of 10, 240mg each. There is no present action necessary on the part of consumers. It is recommended that the dosage instructions are correct on the blister packaging and it is that direction that needs to be followed. The typographical error appears on the directions on the medicine’s label.

The simple error on the packaging uses a double negative, reading as ‘do not not divide, crush, chew, or dissolve the tablet’. The proper instructions are contained on the packaging inside. So far, the company has not reported any negative impacts affecting customers because of the error on the labeling.

There was a Sudafed recall in January when the company cited insufficient procedures for cleaning equipment on the production lines. The inadequacies were identified through routine assessments of production. There were many other recalls proceeding the most recent in 2009 with a larger recall happening in April 2010. At that time Tylenol and Motrin as well as other over-the-counter medications for children were pulled when deficiencies in manufacturing were discovered that affected the quality and potency of the medications. It was these recalls that triggered two investigations by the Senate where hearings revealed incidents of phantom recalls and cover ups.

Johnson & Johnson has been working to make changes to its manufacturing process and has been conducting intense reviews of its products, which has lead to additional recalls in the last few months. For the company, just last year they lost nearly $900 million in sales.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Recalling Sudafed Products was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Beginning later in 2011, the checking account fees on customer accounts will be introduced in Massachusetts, Georgia, and Arizona. The checking fees will progressively be activated nationwide at a later date but the initial states are a pilot program for the bank as it tries to maneuver the implementation of various fees.

Bank of America is just one of the banks in the US trying to make up for lost profits thanks to the new legislation that limited how and how much banks could charge customers for a variety of transactions. One of the main focuses banks had was to reintroduce fees for basic accounts which in the past had been free for customers as an incentive for banking with a specific institution.

It is getting increasingly difficult for consumers to access free bank accounts in any capacity as much revenue was lost with the changes in the banking industry in the last year. Banks are finding more creative ways to assess charges and fees on customer accounts and have been changing up the rules. They are focusing on benefitting from their existing customers to bring up their revenue totals. Because of the many changes occurring, it is important for consumers to stay up to date with account changes or risk losing money from unnecessary fees.

Bank of America has been working on various plans that essentially require customers to use more of the banks products and services as a way of avoiding fees. For instance, customers that opt to receive e-statements and do much of their banking online will have to pay less monthly fees.

There will now be four different types of checking accounts for Bank of America customers. The basic checking account known as Essentials will include a debit card and require a monthly fee. eBanking accounts will not require a fee if customers choose to receive statements online as well as perform transactions either through an ATM or the Internet. Enhanced checking accounts will require a fee be paid if a minimum balance of $2,000 is not met. For the Premium account, there will be a required minimum balance of $20,000 and incentives for customers include free check printing and free money orders.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Introduces New Checking Fees was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The company has already started with the launch of its global advertising campaign. The ads highlight the Ford Focus’ 14 key technologies and the benefits they provide drivers. The company has produced 50 commercials that feature the vehicle and have customized the ads in the specific market in which they will be sold in North America and Europe. The key features are mostly new and have never been featured in advertising before. They also are not features that can be found on models from competitors.

This year Ford has experience continuous growth, hitting record highs in profit during the first two weeks of January. Ford operates as two separate business segments, specializing in the production of trucks and cars as well as providing auto loans for vehicle buyers.

There is a growing need for the cost-conscious drivers to have a safe and affordable option with fuel efficient features to also save on gas, especially since it is predicted that prices are only expected to rise in both the short and long term.

Ford (NYSE: F) Has Plans for Cost-Concerned Consumers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Media outlets will be receiving invitations to the event. The invitation shows an IOS calendar icon with the March 2^nd date notated. In the background, an iPad screen is featured which provides strong indication that the event does indeed pertain to the iPad’s successor.

Earlier in the month, there were rumors circulating that Apple was expected to release a faster version of the popular iPad. It is believed the device will not only have faster hardware components but a FaceTime camera will also be a part of the new design. It is also expected the next iPad will be lighter and thinner than the first one.

Apple is said to have manufactured around 5 million of the iPad2 devices to date before the launch. Up to 4 more million will be ready by April. The first iPad was released in April 2010. The sales of the initial device exceeded even Apple’s expectations having sold over 14.8 million units at the end of 2010. It is expected Apple will sell 30 million more units in 2011.

Apple needs to continue its success rate with the iPad due to growing competition from Samsung Electronics and Research in Motion, that are predicted to add high-speed data access capabilities. It is currently believed that the new iPad will be available initially through AT & T and Verizon Wireless but no confirmation from any of the companies on the sales situation.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Ready to Announce Release of iPad2 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Citibank has over 200,000 million customer accounts around the world. The offer is open to all Citibank card holders. Cleartrip, which launched in July 2006 has become one of the leading websites promoting online travel in India. The site works to make the process of booking travel arrangements simple. The company’s website is user-friendly and includes an easy four-step book process for travel arrangements.

Citibank and Cleartrip’s exclusive cash back offer is a step forward to making digital business full of incentives for consumers. Cleartrip says its dedicated to providing their customers with services that exceed expectations and remain on the edge of innovation. The partnership with Citibank is a sign for consumers of a deeper commitment by both companies commitment to outstanding customer service.

There is no mention on the site of how long the cash back incentive will last for travel booking customers but the site does offer a select number of choices for booking travel via airlines, trains, accommodations, and even airfare alerts. There are even travel guides available on the site to help those who are still in the process of planning their trips.

Citibank (NYSE: C) and Cleartrip Team Up for Big Consumer Travel Discounts was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Assembly of the trucks at the Norfolk VA manufacturing plant possibly went wrong and the airbag systems appeared to have been assembled incorrectly. The assembly may trigger a short circuit wire problem that can cause the airbags to deploy without warning.

The company acknowledged that they have received complaints from drivers citing the problems with the airbags but the number of complaints received was not made public. However, the chief concern from drivers was that the airbags in the F-150’s were deploying shortly after the driver had started the truck.

Information about injuries incurred due to the air bag problems were also not relayed to the public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not immediately posted the information about the Ford trucks. There was mention by a company representative of an injury related to a driver having to jump from the vehicle once the bags had been deployed.

The F-150 is Ford’s top-selling vehicle in the US and has place Ford at the top of the market in the truck industry. The high sales is said to be one reason for the fast turnaround of Ford’s profits recently.

The notice of the recall is going to be sent out to Ford customers starting in early March. Repairs for replacing the faulty wire would be done as a courtesy to Ford owners by dealerships. The repair work would take less than a day.

Ford (NYSE: F) Announces Recall on 144,000 F-150 Pick-ups for Bad Airbags was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The program, as described, will be set up to allow the bank to reduce the principal of mortgage holders if they face trouble. Payments may also be able to be extended and rates can be increased. The goal is to allow military members serving in active duty less worries about their homes when they are away from home. Military members will be encouraged to contact the bank as soon as concerns come about.

There have been several reported incidents where soldiers serving overseas had been working with Bank of America to meet mortgage payments but later on the bank ended up seeking back payments on amounts due or homeowners would have to face foreclosure. Time and again soldiers faced the task of calling and re-calling the bank but only wound up getting transferred from one unhelpful representative to the next. One soldier in such a quandary reached out to ABC network show Good Morning America for help when he couldn’t get the bank to assist him. GMA and ABC News contacted Bank of America who eventually fixed the error with the soldier’s mortgage arrangement.

The soldier stories struck a cord with the bank who then decided to launch the program to help other soldiers facing the same problems meeting their mortgage payments. The bank feels it is their obligation to defend the homes of those defending the homeland.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Announces Military Homeowner Help was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

During the pre-order promotion period. Verizon is said to have sold out. No sales figures were released but the company has said the event was the ‘most successful fist day sales in the history of the company’. Verizon and Apple stores also took pre-orders on February 9. As of Thursday, both Walmart and Best Buy had merchandise stocked on their shelves. Online analytics show that traffic to Verizon’s website showed millions of visitors on the February 3^rd event date with 38% of the visitors hitting the pre-order web page of the site. 39% of those visitors completed the full transaction of the pre-order. The conversion rate was impressive and it also did not calculate those consumers wanting to complete an order but who faced technical difficulties in getting to the end. Overall it is estimated that Verizon sold upwards of a million iPhones as of launch day.

Interestingly, it appeared to some that Verizon stores were much more committed to the days leading up to the iPhone release than Apple stores were. In some cases, it was reported that consumers had no idea the iPhone 4 was even being sold in some of the Apple store locations.

AT&T released their iPhone 4 this past June and people were lined up around the block to get access to the latest device. It that case the iPhone 4 model was an entirely new creation whereas Verizon is essentially selling the same version of the phone, which has been on the market for several months. Some consumers may also be waiting for the advent of the new event, the iPhone 5.

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Nokia is planning to use Microsoft Windows program as its primary software for their phones. Experts believe the move is Nokia’s admission that it strategies for its own platform has been proven a failure. The strategic move is said to be the biggest Nokia has made since they first started producing mobile phones in the 80’s. The company has been working to revive itself after its presence in the smartphone market keeps declining and their shares have been going down with it.

Microsoft has also been working to renew the acceptance of its Windows Phone 7 sofware. Before the iPhone debuted, the Windows Mobile software license sales had doubled annually. Microsoft is said to benefit from the access it has to the world’s largest mobile phone distributor. Microsoft and Nokia will combine their assets and develop jointly products for the mobile. Both companies will also have a hand in marketing the devices. Currently, they are working on the first Nokia Windows phone.

Nokia also has plans in the works to ship upwards of 150 million new phones based on the Symbian smartphone operating system but the company also plans on reducing it’s R  & D budget which may lead to job cuts for the 3000 workers in their Finland facility.  It will also affect the current sales of the Symbian devices since the platform will be completely phased out before the Microsoft phones begin sales, expected in 2012.

Nokia began as a mill for wood pulp in 1865. Eventually the company went on to make rubber, paper, cables, and equipment for telephones before venturing into the mobile phone market in the 1980s. In 1999, the company outpaced Motorola as being the largest producer of mobile phones. It was also listed in that same years as the most valuable company in Europe.

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The bonus for Moynihan was give as restricted stock from the North Carolina-based bank. His salary of $950,000 stayed the same. Thomas K. Montag received $14.3 million in restricted stock and cash awards of $900,000 for his job as leader of the global banking and markets. His salary also increased from $800,000 to $850,000. Montag’s division earned the bank $6.3 billion in 2010 while Moynihan carried $12.4 billion in impairments which were purchased by his predecessor. Bank of America’s shares were reported to underperform during 2010 after dropping 11% after losses were tallied from faulty mortgages from investors which included Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Rival banks have been known to increase base salaries for executives due to the regulations on company bonuses. Bank of America set approximately 10% less on the side for compensation funds for the end of the year due to the decrease in revenue.  Regulators are working on a draft of rules that will help to limit what is considered risky practices by banking institutions.

There were concerns expressed about the awarding of the big bonuses despite such a poor year. Some felt the top execs should not be rewarded for the events of 2010. However, the board of directors for Bank of America reported in their filing that the increase in salaries and the cash bonuses were awarded based on stock price and future performance. End of the year compensation was deferred and tied to the measure of stockholder value.

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One problem is that consumers are not very willing to buy that many electric cars overall. It is expected that electric car enthusiasts will be willing to make the purchase but not the general public. This is largely due to the high costs of purchase and the limitations on the road. There is still a federal government tax incentive available that may encourage some sales. The $7500 tax credit may lure in some drivers but the almost $33,000 price tag for the Nissan Leaf or the $41,000 tag on Chevrolet’s Volt may still be out of range for many struggling consumers.

Currently reports show that GM has plans to produce up to 45,000 Chevrolet Volts over the next year. The Nissan Leaf has production plans for 150,000 vehicles in the same time frame. There are concerns that the electric vehicles, particularly the Nissan Leaf, have limitations for driving. The Leaf can only about 100 miles before a charge must be used. This likely is a big limitation to most drivers interested in the benefits of going electric.

Obama Expected to Miss Electric Car Goal Despite GM (NYSE: GM) Efforts was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The company hopes both sales will be completed by the end of 2012. BP also announced its intention to restart dividends to their stockholders. In 2010, the company reported a loss of $4.9 billion dollars. That amount includes $41 billon in expenses incurred during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s reported loss is the first one since 1992.

The Texas City refinery that is now up for sale was acquired by BP in 1998 when it merged with Amoco. Despite the large size of the facility, it has proven to be the location with the most problems. In 2005 an explosion at the refinery killed 15 people and left more than 170 others with injuries.

The BP refinery in Texas also has a history of environmental troubles and is still under investigation by the state and federal agencies for emissions events last year. During a 40 day time period, the refinery released more than 500,000 pounds of chemicals into the air.

The economic impact will surely be felt across the state. The Texas City refinery is the largest employer in the area. BP has also been a mainstay in the local community due to their charitable donations, employee associations, and activity sponsorships. Studies show that a $22 billion economic hit will be taken by the Texas economy. The numbers include payroll figures for the staff as well as outside contractors. Additionally, business down with other companies will take a loss.

Many of BP’s employees found out about the sale of the Texas refinery when they came into work following the announcement. BP says it hopes that the new buyer will remain ‘sensitive to the area’.

BP (NYSE: BP) Announces Sale of Texas Oil Refinery was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Customers on the rental plan are now able to stream a large collection of movies to their own televisions without having to procure an actual disc. The $7.99 a month rental plan was introduced to cover this feature and the prices of plans for both digital streaming and DVDs jumped slightly. Netflix said more than one-third of the new subscribers joined on to enjoy the streaming plan only.

Analysts do say that the company’s record-high subscriber numbers were much higher than expected but cited that Netflix’s profit margins were soft which is likely due to the cost of streaming content. However, it is expected that Netflix will continue to add new members and revenue which allow for more content acquisitions.

Netflix has no plans to stop shipping physical DVDs to customers any time within the foreseeable future, although the company does expect that requests for the DVDs will begin to drop off at some point. Netflix is continuing its effort to keep current customers happy with both streaming and DVD delivery options but it does appear the company is headed in the right direction with the ramping up of their digital streaming transition.

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The suits allege Countrywide mislead investors concerning its finances and practices for lending mortgages. In addition to the recent investor suits, there may be more forthcoming suits from others that also elected to avoid the class action settlement as they believe they will be able to secure higher recovery amounts by moving forward on their own.  Thirty-three investors choose to opt out of the class action settlement. Bank of America spokesperson made a statement pertaining to the additional lawsuits being filed. “It is unfortunate that select investors chose to opt out of a fair and equitable agreement to settle these issues. We intend to vigorously defend these claims.”

Countrywide Mortgage was purchased by Bank of America for $2.5 billion. At one time, Countrywide was the largest mortgage lender in the United States. Now the company continues to face substantial losses and expenses from extended litigation costs to defend lawsuits from investors that had bought securities and stocks backed by the mortgage company. Many of the mortgages were found to have been risky subprime deals or mortgages with adjustable rates.

The recent cases are State Treasurer of the State of Michigan v. Countrywide Financial Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 11-00809; Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Countrywide Financial Corp et al in the same court, No. 11-00811; and Oregon v. Countrywide Financial Corp, Oregon Circuit Court, County of Multnomah, Nos. 1101-01141 and 1101-01142.

Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) Countrywide Facing More Legal Action was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Currently the unemployment rate for women stands two percentage points lower than the rate for male unemployment. Women are also pegged for being in better positions for the areas of job growth especially in health care.

It is predicted that consumer companies who produce clothing, cosmetics, health and beauty aids, and other female-focused products will increase their stock value as more women gain control of the purchasing power within a household. Even single working women are predicted to increase their spending on products to cater to themselves. In addition to female targeted products, there is also to be a predicted increase in spending on vacations, home accessories and furniture, and medical cosmetic procedures.

There are 26 companies which fit into the ‘long women’ investment strategy including J.C. Penney Co., Macy’s Inc., Kohl’s Corp., Nordstrom Inc., Saks Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc., Pier 1 Imports Inc. Walt Disney Co., Estee Lauder Cos., AnnTaylor Stores Corp., Express Inc., Coach Inc., and Tiffany & Co.

The economy of the US will continue to grow as it stabilizes from the worst recession experienced since World War II. Policies and stimulus plans instituted by the Obama administration is expected to bring down the unemployment rate of the US and boost the largest economy in the world.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Encourages ‘Women’ Investments was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Growth was reported in cars, trucks and utility vehicles in 2010, according to statistics.  Other auto industries such as General Motors and Chrysler did stay in business but the assistance of government funding made this possible. Ford officials recently announced that due to their unexpected growth they will be adding about 7,000 new jobs to allow them to keep up with the demand. 

Job growth in the Ford automotive industry is expected over the next two years.  Of the 7,000 jobs, all of these will be in the United States. Ford estimates that 4,000 hourly positions will be added at existing manufacturing locations in 2011 and an additional 2,500 jobs will be added in 2012.  Preparing for environmentally friendly and electrified vehicles will add 750 salaried positions to focus on product development and engineering in 2011. 

Ford recently announced its plan for its first electric car, the Ford Focus Electric.  This electric vehicle is expected to be able to go over 100 miles on one charge. While many consumers are not yet sold on the idea of an electric vehicle others are looking for a more environmentally friendly option to gasoline powered vehicles. 

Ford may be taking a risk by assuming that the demand by the public exists for this type of greener vehicle, given the statistics on sales over the last two years, it seems to be a safe risk. The next generation Ford Escape is also in the planning stages at the Ford manufacturing facilities.

The development and manufacturing of these two new vehicles are a major reason for the expected job growth of 7,000 over the next two years. Ford reports that the job expansions will positively affect the Louisville assembly plant in addition to a variety of other manufacturing plants all over the country.  Ford announces that they are actively recruiting for engineers with specific experience in energy storage and system controls as well as software for various positions throughout the country.

Ford (NYSE: F) Forges Ahead in 2011 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

According to information attained through Verizon representatives, customers who are already enrolled in the program through an existing contract will be able to redeem the credits they have accumulated.  Once these existing customers upgrade and redeem their remaining credits, the program will end.  Customers new to Verizon will not be eligible. Eventually once all existing customers’ cash in their credits and upgrade the “New Every Two” program will cease to exist. 

Verizon announces on its website that at this time there are no early upgrade promotions being offered. Verizon sources do report that at the 20 month mark of a 24 month contract will be the earliest that a customer will be able to upgrade to a new phone, while some customers still indicate that some current iPhone upgrades have been offered even earlier than 20 months.

February 10^th will mark the introduction of the CMDA iPhone 4 designed and marketed in a new partnership between Apple and Verizon.  The technical preparation for this phone was reported by Verizon to take between six and nine months.  CMDA stands for code division multiple access which means that many transmitters are allowed to send information at the same time using one communication channel.  In anticipation of the demand for this new very technically savvy phone, preorders are estimated to begin in early February for Verizon customers.    

The changes to the existing Verizon programs will mean increased costs for customers.  According to reports from competitors such as AT&T, profit margins for the company shrunk due to early upgrades, waiving of processing fees and programs that allowed customers significant discounts on phones through special promotions.  Verizon takes a loss every time a customer upgrades at a discount and even more of a loss if they upgrade early.  Luckily the changes to the existing programs are one way to eliminate loss potential. The changes to existing programs are one way to ensure that Verizon will not take a loss on their bottom line and remain a leader in the industry.

Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) “New Every Two” is No More was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Homeowner Difficulty

The recent recession has caused many homeowners across the nation to seek out assistance from financial lenders to help with homeownership costs.  Buying, selling and keeping a home have become more difficult than it has been in past years.  Between the declining prices for selling a home and the increasing prices to buy and maintain an existing home, Americans look to programs that can assist them in managing costs and avoiding foreclosure.  HAMP is one alternative but not the only one. 

While HAMP is one option, it is not the only program in existence that provides financial assistance to existing homeowners. Given the recent reports on the limited success of HAMP many are looking to other modification programs that offer more attainable and successful outcomes.  The Bank of America is one of many financial services that offer alternative modification programs for homeowners. 

Reports show that the discounts that the HAMP program attempts to provide is not enough for many homeowners, or they do not initially qualify for this particular program.  Statistics and data collected from November 2010 Making Home Affordable Program reports indicate that an alarming number of homeowners involved with HAMP were held in trial modification for an extended period of time. Typically the time frame in trial modification is double the amount that it takes a homeowner to negotiate a permanent foreclosure prevention arrangement.  These facts alone indicate that in many cases other program options would be a better choice than HAMP. While the program may work for some, others need more immediate assistance.

Alternatives

Homeowners needing assistance with affording their home should be looking beyond the HAMP program at the other modification programs available. According to the data, even homeowners who were denied HAMP services or had their case held in trial modification were able to secure an alternative program that would work towards preventing home foreclosure, either through a financial lender, HUD or the Making Home Affordable Program. 

It is fact that there are still homeowners who cannot meet the payments despite the aid provided by any assistance program, however the sooner the program starts providing assistance the higher the success rate for the homeowner to avoid foreclosure.

Homeowners Have More than One Option was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

There was also no comment from Apple regarding the potential of violating their own standards for nudity and adult content in their App Store. The guidelines were set into place and published last fall by Apple. In the content secition of the App store guidelines it specifically states that pornography is prohibited. Specifically the guidelines read ‘Apps containing pornographic material, defined by Webster’s Dictionary as ‘explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings,’ will be rejected.’

Steve Jobs has previously said that pornography is the major reason why software applications must be approved before they can be sold or downloaded for free. There is an actually store for pornography-related information available for Google Android mobile operating system. Jobs however is particularly interested in the access kids have to pornographic materials. The company has previously stated their commitment from preventing that from happening.

The potential change would be a big one for Apple who has not allowed adult content on its IOS software for its iPad and iPhone. The official Playboy application available from the Apple App store sells for 99 cents and expressly is described as not containing any nude content.

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Nintendo also said along with the launch of the device, more than 30 games compatible with the new 3DS will also be available at the time of launch up through early June. To date, older versions of the handheld gaming machines – the Nintendo DS and the DSI have been very successful. The company claims that the user experience for the new 3DS is ‘like nothing you’ve ever seen before.’

The new Nintendo will feature two screens similar to the older model machines. The bottom screen will remain a touch screen and the top level screen will display both 2D and 3D graphics. The device will feature a depth slider which allows users to control the levels of 3D graphics they are able to see. There are three built-in cameras too. One points at the player and the two additional cameras face outward, allowing the user to experience 3D images of themselves and the objects they photograph.

A motion sensor and gyro sensor is incorporated into the device which enables the machine to sense tilting and other motions of the user. The controls will also feature a new Circle Pad in addition to the original button controls and arrow control pads that allow users to have 360 degree access to directions during game play. The 3DS will also feature applications preloaded into the device. One application acts as a pedometer and users can earn coin rewards for the amount of steps they take. Coins can be saved and traded in for additional applications and gaming content. Another application, the Mii Maker application, lets players import their Wii avatar Mii into their 3DS system.

Nintendo Set to Launch 3DS in March was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The offer on Amazon has already sold over 200,000 vouchers for the special half-off deal which in turn has grossed more than $2.3 million in sales for the fledgling startup. The site offers consumers deals ever day on local events and specials that can also be shared among friends through social networking.

The site looks for deals in specific areas and essentially presents experiences for consumers interested in exploring their local area. The site claims they use innovation and imagination to bring a loyal following to local business. The company employs local experts in the places the site is working who work directly with the local business owners to secure and invent the deals featured each day. In some cases the deals can be worth up to 90% off in discounts for restaurants, events, and local retailers. Consumer can purchase deals through the LivingSocial website and will receive an emailed voucher with instructions for redemption. The vouchers are printed from the consumer’s home printer and requires only Adobe Reader to access the file.

LivingSocial as well as Groupon, a similar site is anticipating $500 million in revenue for this year. To date, LivingSocial has over 10 million users registered already and there is said to be expectations that Google’s Groupon will do just as well. That site already has LivingSocial beat user-wise with more than 12 million users registered.

In addition from the investment from Amazon, LivingSocial also received $8 million from a company called Lightspeed Venture Partners. Both investments will be used to keep pushing the site in more than 120 locations worldwide. The CEO of LivingSocial is particularly excited about its venture with Amazon in an effort to stay committed to the continued satisfaction of customers.

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The state Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a judge’s decision that two foreclosures were not valid since the banks could not reasonable proved they owned the mortgages. The reason was due to the inappropriate transferring of mortgages into mortgage-backed trusts.

Wells Fargo, the fourth largest bank in the US according to assets saw stocks drop as a result of the ruling. Such cases of bank and loan issues led to a nationwide investigation of foreclosures during the collapse of the housing market. The investigation was started after JPMorgan Chase & Co and Ally Financial Inc stated they would cease foreclosure repossessions in 23 states that have court supervision of home seizures. Bank of America also began freezing foreclosures in the US.

The updated decision follows one made by Judge Keith C Long, Massachusetts Land Court Judgge, who voided the foreclosures in March 2009. Judge Long found that the transfers of mortgages were done months after the house sales. Long refused to bank’s request to reverse his initial ruling in October 2009 after the banks fought back with documents showed the mortgages hand transferred back to them.

In light of the decision, it is expected that securitization documents be required to show the proper transferring of mortgages. There will need to be a process and documentation offering proof that assignments were made by a party that held the mortgage.

Neither US Bancorp or Wells Fargo representatives have commented on the judge’s decision in the Massachusetts case.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) Loses Big-Time Foreclosure Case in Massachusetts was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The MyFord application will be able to be launched from Android, IOS, and BlackBerry devices. It can also be accessible by any handset phone with a HTML5-supported browser or WAP 2.0 standards. Users can also set up scheduling for charging their Ford Focus at their convenience, particularly during off-peak hours when charging rates are cheaper. They will not even need to be near their vehicles to initiate the process of charging. The phone app will also send alerts to drivers when the vehicle is not charging when it should be.

Ford stated that the Focus Electric vehicles will have integrated connections for cellular services in the vehicle to relay vehicle information to drivers through the MyFord Mobile app. The connection also serves to allow drivers to find their vehicles remotely using GPS. The app will work to unlock vehicle doors as well. MapQuest will be used to plan driving routes for drivers of electric vehicles with data that shows if the next charging station is reachable with the amount of battery charge remaining.

The move by Ford is said to help ease the worries of drivers who fear driving an electric vehicle. The company hopes that by giving electronic access to the vehicle’s data, owners will feel more confident they will not run out of electricity and will be able to locate another charging center on longer road trips. Smartphones can help propel the popularity of Ford’s electric vehicles as well as other future models from other manufacturers.

Ford (NYSE: F) Offers App To Make Focus Smart was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The announcement came in part because the bank needs to make up revenue that has been lost thanks to the new regulations imposed on banks. Most banks have tried to tack on fees anywhere possible in order to gain back lost profits. Consumers quickly began to express unhappiness with the higher costs of normal banking transactions, many of which used to be free. It also said the fee structure will be changed due to feedback it has been receiving directly from customers.

Bank of America has decided to test its changes in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Georgia and customers in those locations will need to deposit more money into their accounts to avoid the new charges. After the test program ends, nationwide changes are expected to go into effect next year with appropriate and necessary changes.

The bank has been struggling to make revenue after they faced regulation changes about other fees and overdraft charges. According to bank representatives, the new changes will offer more options for customers to avoid fees. They are attempting to refocus efforts on better customer relations rather than just selling products to consumers.

Many consumers have been opting to go with smaller community banks since big banks have not been living up to expectations. The deposits into local banks have increased over the last year but it is not immediately clear if the monies were transferred out of bigger banks accounts.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Customers to See More Fees was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Google made this announcement during the holiday season to stay “in the spirit of holiday giving and to help people keep in touch in the new year.” Google first launched their free calling in Gmail earlier this year in August. When it was launched, Google said that the service would only be available for free until the end of the year. Keeping the service free in 2011 is a nice gift to those who use it that could have been charged for the Google Voice service starting next month.

Though it is a generous offer for the spirit of holiday giving, Information Week believes that “While Google has framed the giveaway in the context of the holiday spirit, it’s more likely the latest move is primarily to boost usage of its Google Voice Internet telephony service, which has been integrated into Gmail. Google is building Gmail into a communication hub encompassing phone calls, e-mail, and instant messaging.”

With the hundreds of millions of Gmail users, the free calling service that is made through the Gmail platform is expected to be used by a wider range of users over time. Closed testing for Google Voice took a long time to make it work as they wanted before it was released, and has only been available to the public since June of 2010.

Skype is Google Voice’s major competitor in the Internet telephone service. Skype has over 23 million users that make calls on their service worldwide throughout peak times of the day. Google Voice claimed that they only had “more than a million active users” on their voice over IP service.

Part of the reason for Skype’s huge popularity is that it is a more established Internet telephone service than Google Voice, and has been widely used for voice and video calling around the world for many years. Skype’s biggest draw of all though, is that it is free to use between Skype users. Skype does however, charge for calls that are made to landlines and mobile phones. These charges incur a per minute charge that varies per country. Calls made in the United States cost 2.3 cents per minute, and calls to Canada start at 2.7 cents per minute. For Google to compete at Skype’s level, they will need to extend their free service to the extent Skype has.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Voice Remains Free In 2011 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Typically, when a credit card balance is 180 days past due, it is considered to be uncollectable. Uncollectable credit card debt has been a big problem since the recession began, however Citibank seems to be moving ahead. Citibank, during the month of November saw the biggest drop in uncollectable credit card debt when compared to the other top credit card issuers in the country. Their rate dropped from 10.27% in October to 9.4% in November, a difference of .87%.  This is good news for the company as rates seem to be consistently declining since their peak. Citibank’s rate peaked back in August 2009 when delinquencies topped off at 12.14%.

This was not all. Other good news for Citibank showed that those card holders whose payments were just 35 days behind also fell to the lowest levels seen in two years. The rates fell to 4.74% for the month of November. This is down from October’s rate of 4.93%.

For the last two years consumer credit card debt has been slowly but steadily declining. This can be attributed to a number of factors. Many consumers seem to be looking to reduce their credit card spending and have become more reluctant in using plastic.  Lenders have tightened standards for obtaining credit and have also been reducing credit card limits when they feel it is necessary. Additionally, many banks have already written off large amounts of uncollectable debt, which also played a role in lowering the total credit card debt held by consumers.

An analysis by the Federal Reserve shows that credit card debt has dropped in recent months to the lowest levels seen since May of 2005. In looking ahead it is projected that this number will continue to fall during 2011. Across the credit card industry the charge off rate hit its highest point during the second quarter of 2010 topping 10.7%. According to data collected by the Federal Reserve, prior to the recession the average was just 3.8%.

Citibank (NYSE: C) See Big Drop In Credit Card Delinquencies was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Sony’s new service is called Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, which is a cloud based digital music service. Sony’s approach differs from iTunes because it does not require users to purchase and download tracks they want to listen to. Instead, with Sony’s new service, users are able to stream the music they want to listen to.

The only drawback so far for Music Unlimited is that it is (for now) not available on portable devices. This means that users can’t take the music they want to listen to on the go. The service only allows users to listen to music from an assortment of Internet connected Sony devices, such as the Playstation 3 gaming console, Blu-ray players, and Bravia televisions.

Sonly launched the new service this week in Ireland and the U.K. They plan to launch it in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Italy, Spain, and New Zealand sometime in 2011.

As stated in Apple Insider, “Kazuo Hirai, executive vice president of Sony, said the initial focus of the product is to enhance the appeal of Sony products versus competitors like Apple and Microsoft, according to The Associated Press. But he said “over time” the service would need to stand on its own. “We realized if we were playing catch-up with the same (iTunes) model, it would be difficult to appear to users,” Hirai said.”

As Qriocity is expanded globally, services that are “powered by Qriocity” will offer a single ID log-in where users can easily login and checkout what they want. This will allow users to easily browse and consume content such as music and videos as well as a “growing number of integrated devices.” Hirai explained that “Seamless accessibility to content through these fresh user experiences will enrich Sony’s network service offerings and continually add value to the unique aspects of Sony’s network-enabled products.”

Sony doesn’t plan on just giving Apple competition with the iTunes store, but also with their App Store. Sony plans at some point to allow software developers to be able to create apps for their service too. Sony hopes that with these new services they will be able to generate more revenue, much like Apple has shown with their online services.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Will Have Competition with Sony’s New Music Streaming Service was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Amazon might be able to sell eight million Kindles in 2010. This is a huge number of Kindles, and if Amazon can in fact pull it off before the year is over, they will have accomplished selling more of the Kindle this year by two or three times what it has sold in any year since it was released. Eight million sold would also be as many Amazon Kindles sold as Apple has sold iPads!

The eight million quote is not confirmed by Amazon, but Bloomberg is reporting that it is what “two people who are aware of the company’s sales projections” are predicting could in fact be the final sales number for the year.

Amazon may reach the eight million mark because of the huge popularity of the Kindle. Many are also giving in and purchasing one because of the recent price drop this year, which brought the popular e-reader to only $139 per unit. There are also other e-readers doing well this year, but none has a better price or a better overall platform. If there was ever a good reason to buy one of these devices, it is now.

All that Amazon has said on the matter was posted on December 13, in a Facebook wall post stating that “in just the first 73 days of this holiday quarter, we’ve already sold millions of our all-new Kindles.” Some analysts were guessing that it was around the five million mark. According to Peter Kafka of AllThingsD’s, that might even seem to be bullish.

MSNBC gave Amazon the opportunity to respond to this matter, but they have not yet done so. At some point in the near future, they will have to reveal the actual sales number for the Kindle, but are so far, being mysterious about the actual facts. Will it be five million? Eight million? Ten million? Only Amazon knows, but hopefully they won’t keep us guessing for too much longer.

Can Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Sell 8 Million Kindles in 2010? was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

According to a recent report by Fox News, HP will show off their newest tablet called the PalmPad at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. The PalmPad is running a version of the webOS which was acquired from Palm last year. As stated in Apple Insider, “HP’s PalmPad will reportedly be offered in a variety of configurations that are “collectively a spin-off of the never-released HP Slate,” the report states. The Slate which ran on Windows 7, was released in partnership with Microsoft this fall, but only in a very limited capacity to business customers.

HP’s new hardware will be ran on the Sprint 4G network, but besides that the hardware specs are very similar to Apple’s iPad. HP’s new tablet is also thinner and weighs less than the Apple iPad. The PalmPad will also feature a USB 3.0 port, front and rear facing cameras that both have LED flashes – a great feature for people to take pictures of themselves.

The actual screen size of the three versions of the PalmPad is unknown, but it is expected to be similar to the 9.7 inch screen on the iPad. The fourth model which is intended for universities is expected to have an 8.9 inch screen as well as “any other specs specifically requested by the institution.”

The report also noted HP’s chief executive Todd Bradley stating earlier in August that, “you’ll see us with a Microsoft product out in the near future and a webOS-based product in early 2011.” HP did release the $799 Slate PC which ran on Windows 7 back in October. However, it did not sell very well at all and featured a 8.9 inch screen, weighed 1.5 lbs, and used an Atom processer, which is not a very desirable processor in the tablet or PC world.

For HP to be able to completely redesign and upgrade the PalmPad just three months after the release of the failed Slate, would be a miracle. It took HP ten months after the Slate was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show before it was released to market. So far, the images that Fox released of the PalmPad is almost identical to the Slate. Just how different it is will be seen at the show.

HP (NYSE: HPQ),Microsoft (NASDAQ: MFST) Take on the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)iPad at the Consumer Electronics Show was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Around 2.5 million copies of Kinect were sold in the first ten days after its release in November 2010. Its great appeal is it does not need a controller. It is the only controller-free games and entertainment system available. The user controls, games, music and television with their gestures and voice.

“We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect, and are working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “With sales already exceeding two and a half million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5 million units sold to consumers this holiday.”

Target, says that Xbox 360 is one of their bestsellers. Nik Naya, vice president, merchandising at Target says, “We expect Kinect will be a must-have gift this holiday season, so Target will continue to receive consistent shipments of Kinect throughout December. The hands-free, active gaming experience that Kinect offers is something that everyone in the family can enjoy.”

There are over 60 000 retailers in 38 countries selling Kinect and Xbox 360.

Kinect is an add-on to the Xbox 360. Without Kinect, a user can still play games on Xbox 360. This means users do not need to buy a new console when updating to Kinect. The audio and imaging A1 of the Kinect recognises faces and recognises a player from others around him or her.  Kinect also has speech recognition and can track up to 6 players at a time.

The general manager of Xbox Live, Mark Whitten, said in an interview. “How people are going to consume entertainment is changing in this amazing time we are in. When you look at Xbox 360 and what we have with Live, and the power to bring in Kinect, which gives you this natural user interface to drive on top of that, that’s what’s going to be really special–whether that’s about all the games you can play or the new user entertainment experiences. It’s really about how you get people to expect more out of their living room.”

Kinect Makes Microsoft (NASDAQ: MFST) Xbox 360 Controller Free was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Balmer said, “All across the company, we are delivering compelling products and record financial results. I’m as excited about our future as I have ever been. Our opportunities to transform people’s lives on a global scale have never been greater.”

It appears that, “People are falling in love with Kinect, and they are just flying off the shelves. As soon as people experience controller-free gaming and entertainment, they want it. And the excitement over Kinect is also translating into even more excitement for our Xbox 360 consoles and games,” he said.

Customer demand for Microsoft online services and cloud technology is growing. This is noticed through the tremendous customer demand for Windows Azure. There is also a lot of interest in Microsoft Office 365 Service.

Cloud services, Xbox LIVE and Bing, are also recording steady consumer demand.

It seems that in 2011, business focus will be on developing cloud computing investments, as more and more companies are moving away from in house IT. Business leaders are not as skeptical about cloud computing and are starting to trust it more. This will be a bonus for Microsoft.

Windows 7 is selling at a phenomenal rate making it the quickest selling operating system so far.  There were 2.5 million sold in 25 days in 2010.

Analysts believe Microsoft will continue its 2010 growth. In 2011 they expect Windows 8 to be released by Microsoft. There will also be lots of Windows phone updates. Six new Microsoft stores, including one in New York will open.

Steve Balmer will be a keynote speaker at the 2011 International CES. In the past Microsoft has used the CES as a forum for announcing new products.  He will outline the strategic vision of Microsoft and comment on the future of the IT industry as a whole. 

CEA President and CEO, Gary Shapiro says of Microsoft, “Microsoft’s entrepreneurial spirit and drive have been major forces behind the success of the company and its impact on the global consumer technology industry. We look forward to hearing Steve’s strategic vision for the future of Microsoft and our industry.”

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MFST) Ends 2010 on a High Note was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Walmart is one of the biggest retail giants in the United States and has a huge influence on the retail market in the country. Walmart already offers EMV payments in their European Asda stores, and are extremely interested in pushing for this technology in the United States, too. As reported in Digital ID News, “We’re interested in helping to migrate EMV to the U.S. market,” says Jamie Henry, director of payment services with Walmart treasury organizations. “We view it as a much more secure transaction, and we want to provide our customers with the most secure transactions in the market place.”

Henry is discussing the two forms of authentication with EMVs: the chip and the pin. The EMV chip verifies authenticity of the card so that retailers know that it isn’t counterfeited. The EMV pin verifies that the identity of the user is the actual person. This helps to ensure that the card isn’t stolen or lost.

As Henry explained, Walmart plans on bringing EMVs to the United States by “having discussions with the media to help make our position known and to leverage other stakeholders in the payment environment that would have similar interests.” Walmart is also working on the technical sides of the process to update their existing payment terminals with EMV compatible software, so this type of card will be accepted in their stores.

One of the big issues with the EMV migration is about the contactless technology for it. Walmart has explained that right now don’t believe that it offers more security than the magnetic stipe on the back on a card, and may even be lower because there is no PIN required with contactless payments. They also don’t think that the swipe of a card is much slower than a tap with the EMV type.

Perhaps the biggest reason that the retailers in the United States haven’t switched is due to the fact that it costs a considerable amount of money to switch to the upgraded terminals and infrastructure. The banks also don’t have an incentive to issue customers the newer and more costly cards.

EMV was developed around 1994 to 1996 – over ten years ago. What is likely to be seen in the United States is a newer and updated version of the EMV that is more up to speed and more secure.

Will Walmart (NYSE: WMT)Bring the EMV to the United States? was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Apple announced earlier this week that they were expecting to reach their one millionth sale of the Apple TV this week. As reported in Apple Insider, analyst Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. said in a note to their investors on Wednesday, that he sees the figures of the sales as “positive, but fairly immaterial.”

According to these sales figures, if the Apple TV continues to sell one million units per quarter, it would equal $400 million in annual revenue for Apple. Apple is expected to earn $88 billion in revenue in 2011, so the sales of the Apple TV would only be a small portion of revenue for the company.

Even though the sales for the Apple TV is not a big money maker for the company, Wu said that he believes that the TV is now in the position to soon become a “more material contributor and game changer in the TV space.”

Wu believes that a major determining factor for this would be the addition of an App Store for the TV which would allow users to download new apps for the Apple TV. The App Store for the Apple iPhone and iPad are a huge money maker for the company. Wu estimated that around 40 percent of the apps purchased and downloaded are games, which he thinks will become a huge selling point for the Apple TV. As stated in Apple Insider, “This capability isn’t available today, but we believe it could be added fairly easily as Apple TV uses a similar A4 processor architecture as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch,” Wu said.

The big question many investors have asked concerning the App Store for the Apple TV is how they will incorporate the multi-touch capability on a TV. Wu explained that “our answer is the ability to connect the Magic Trackpad, similar to adding multi-touch to its desktop Macs including iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. We also see the potential in other peripherals including game controllers.”

Another big factor that many consumers want out of the TV is the ability to record TV to view later. Wu explained that this isn’t a “technology issue” and is instead being held up because of “licensing terms.”

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Expects to Reach 1 Million Apple TV Sales Per Quarter was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

These particular loans are called Pick a Pay adjustable rate loans. These loans were targeted to those who could not start with a full payment, giving them an option to pay less. The problem was that these loans offered homeowners the choice of making a regular monthly payment or a lower, more affordable one. When home owners chose the lower payment, the amount rarely covered even the interest of the loan. When these loans readjusted, payments rose so high that many homeowners could no longer keep up with them.

Many of these home loans have already been foreclosed on and Wells Fargo also agreed to a settlement for these individuals. Right around 12,000 homeowners who held these types of loans will receive payments from Wells Fargo with the bill totaling right around $32 million. On average, each home owner will receive a check for $2,650.

In a statement Jerry Brown, CA Attorney General said, “Customers were offered adjustable-rate loans, with payments that mushroomed to amounts that ultimately thousands of borrowers could not afford. Recognizing the harm caused by these loans Wells Fargo accepted responsibility and entered in this settlement with my office.”

Brown went on to emphasize that none of these loans originated with Wells Fargo and that the company has been working to help troubled home owners whose loans the bank inherited. To date, in California, Wells Fargo has already helped 50,000 home owners. The bank has spent $2.9 billion to help reduce loan costs for those struggling to keep up with payments.  When the housing market and economy crashed it hit these homeowners hard and without the help many more home owners may have lost their homes.

Additionally, the bank is also working on settlements in several other states and has already helped homeowners in Florida, Texas and Nevada, to name just a few.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Is Helping CA Home Owners Through Loan Modifications was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Wozniak started his letter to the FCC with personal anecdotes from his life on how phone, cable, and DSL network restrictions have worked against him as a consumer. Back in 1972, Wozniak has a “dial-a-joke” service but was forced to shut it down because the restrictions from his phone company (which also had a monopoly of services) made it too expensive to continue.

Wozniak claims in the letter that he has never had a cable or DSL service in any of the four homes he has owned. As stated in the letter, “The local phone providers don’t have any obligation to serve all of their phone customers with DSL,” Wozniak wrote, “They also have no requirement to service everyone living in the geographic area for which they have a monopoly.” Wozniak claimed that he even offered to cover the cost of laying the three quarters of a mile of cable to run to his home, but was turned down by the cable company because they decided that  the company couldn’t make up the costs of the monthly rental for “running their cable on telephone poles.”

Wozniak also brings up the Constitution and Bill of Rights that are not being held up as they should. Wozniak explains, “The early Internet was so accidental, it also was free and open in this sense,” Wozniak continued. “The Internet has become as important as anything man has ever created. But those freedoms are being chipped away.” He then begs the FCC to keep the Internet as free as they possibly can. He strongly feels that the Internet should not be restricted on what consumers can watch and for how long they can watch it.

Net Neutrality is not the way to go, at least according to Wozniak who realized that “every time and in every way that the telecommunications careers have had power or control, we the people wind up getting screwed.”

He still has hopes that the FCC will be the good guy for the people it is supposed to be looking after. Wozniak concluded his letter by stating that, “Not only is current action on Net Neutrality one of the most important times ever for the FCC, it’s probably the most momentous and watched action of any government agency in memorable times in terms of setting our perception of whether the government represents the wealthy powers or the average citizen, of whether the government is good or is bad.”

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The company was quick to say that they have been looking at this issue all year and that they are not changing the policy because of the pending legislation, but rather as a way to help meet customers’ needs. A Wells Fargo representative stated that, “We constantly are looking at our policies and looking at how our policies match up to customer needs.” The new loan provisions will take effect immediately on Friday of this week and will apply to all loans that are currently held by students.

To get the word out the company will be announcing the changes on their web site and contacting colleges and universities throughout the country to pass on the news to their students. They will not be sending out letters to their current loan holders but future loan applications will state the new policy.

It may be that Wells Fargo would have been forced to change their policy if the Senate votes yes on a proposed bill that has already been signed by congress. The Christopher Bryski Student Loan Protector Act Bill is waiting for a Senate vote and if passed would require all banks who issue student loans to forgive the debt at the time of the primary holders death of if they were proclaimed to be permanently disabled. There are many families throughout the country who after the death of their loved one, have been left with the burden of their loved ones’ student loan payments. This bill is in honor of one such family, the Bryski family who today struggles to pay back their son’s student loan debt which totals over $40,000.

Currently, student loan lenders seem to be split on the issue of whether or not student loan debt should be forgiven. One of the largest holder’s of student loans, Sallie Mae, has a forgiveness policy in place, while other companies do not. Student Loan Corp, another large lender does not forgive student loan debt and has voiced their opinion. Company spokesperson Mark Rogers stated, “A cosigner accepts responsibility for a loan if the other party is unable to pay, and they are expected to honor the contract as they would other obligations,”

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) To Forgive Student Loans When Loan Holder Dies Or Becomes Disabled was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Citigroup mortgage customers are still facing foreclosures due to the inability to make monthly mortgage payments. This is largely due to the unemployment rates that have affected a family’s ability to keep steady income. Even when modifications are in place, homeowners still can’t keep up with payments regularly. This results in customers having their Make Home Affordable modifications cancelled.

Now Citigroup is offering additional options for those homeowners that can not meet the requirements as set up by Obama’s Make Home Affordable program. Additional modification programs are being created in-house to help homeowners. Throughout the month of August, more than 35,000 borrowers were given access to the alternative modification programs offered through Citigroup.

Other homeowners who are still in need of assistance with their mortgage payments are finding relief through another program called the Home Affordable Unemployment Program. This program is set to helping people who are without a job. The program helps initiate a forbearance status on mortgage payments until the time they can make other modification arrangements when they secure a steady income source.

Homeowners who have loans with Citigroup are encouraged to contact the bank as soon as they realize they will have trouble meeting mortgage payment obligations to see what options can be afforded before the mortgage loan goes into default and foreclosure status.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) Goes Outside HAMP to Offer Loan Modifications was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The company has been working hard to cut back on costs, which is one of the reasons they have been able to increase profits and consistent growth. Ford plans to also invest $2 billion back into their plants in Michigan due to tax breaks being provided by the state. This plan could potentially bring more than 2,000 jobs to the state and those workers who were previously laid off would get their jobs back first. Newly hired employees will be offered work at reduced wages.

Ford has made quite a turn around in just a year. With most automakers in the US filing for bankruptcy one year ago, Ford is on track to be ahead of the pack. While the worldwide sales of Ford have been on the decline, Ford plans to counter this by adding more products to the current market. They also have plans to continue reducing the debt they have.

Ford (NYSE: F) Flourishing Without Government Help was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The assembly plant already produces several of the company’s Cadillac models like the CTS sedan. The plant is one of General Motor’s newest assembly plants in the US and was built in 1999.

To date, GM has invested more than $3 billion in its US locations. Since the company came back from bankruptcy filed in July 2009, it has created or maintained nearly 8,000 jobs at their 21 plants in the US according to a statement from the automaker. GM Chief Executive Daniel Akerson also said in a statement “This investment demonstrates GM’s commitment to Cadillac and to a strong U.S. manufacturing base.”

The Lansing Grand River assembly plant already provides 1,100 workers with jobs, 965 of which get paid at an hourly rate. The company said it would be announcing the launch of the latest Cadillac model and the timing of job creation at a later date.

The state of Michigan recently approved plans to offer General Motors, Ford (NYSE: F), and Chrysler (NYSE: DAI)$2.1 billion in tax breaks for investments in seventeen new projects planned for within the state. Ford and Chrysler are set to receive the majority of benefits but General Motors was offered a $25 million credit for hiring 4,000 workers at the Renaissance Center headquarters based in downtown Detroit. In addition to that incentive, GM was also offered an extension on an earlier tax credit for a new hybrid electric vehicle battery center.

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When the iPhone 4 was introduced, Apple showed versions in both black and white. When shipments began being sent, only black models of the iPhone were available. The company promised the white phone models would be soon to follow.

Apple has previously mentioned that white models were ‘more challenging to build’ than the company had first expected. Apple’s current updating cycle leaves speculation that the next model will be available for purchase by next June. If this is the case, the white iPhones will be available for just a short period of time before the phones are again upgraded.

This is the third time Apple has delayed the white iPhone’s release. Apple released a statement to consumers saying “We’re sorry to disappoint customers waiting for the white iPhone yet again, but we’ve decided to delay its release until this spring.”

White iPhone Pushed Back By Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) – Again was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Four Loko, a drink that contains alcohol and caffeine, is the latest drink to be investigated by the FDA. Last year the agency sent letters to 30 manufacturers that produce energy drinks containing alcohol. The agency’s correspondence asked that the beverage manufacturers provide proof these drinks were safe for public consumption. The FDA has not ascertained the safety of the drinks and were requesting the information on safety directly from the manufacturers.

The letter stated in part “The agency is not aware of the basis upon which you have or may have concluded that your use of caffeine in an alcoholic beverage is GRAS (generally regarded as safe). Nor are we aware of a basis for concluding that your use of caffeine in these beverages is prior sanctioned.”

The drinks in question are available in more than 40 varieties and are marketed to consumers as energy drinks. They are found in the grocery stores and convenience stores. What most consumers fail to realize is the consequences of the drink’s alcohol content. Four Loko, a 23.5 ounce drink contains 12% alcohol. This is equal to the alcohol content of drinking five 12-ounce beers. As for the caffeine, the drink contains enough caffeine equal to a cup of coffee.

The maker of Four Loko, Phusion Products, LLC, stated they have replied to the FDA’s information request by providing testing results showing the safety of the drink. The company compares their drink as being ‘no different than having a coffee after a meal with a couple glasses of wine.’

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New York US District Judge Kimba Wood issued the permanent injunction against LimeWire on Tuesday. The order requires LimeWire disable their ‘searching, downloading, uploading, file trading, and/or file distribution functionality’ of their software. LimeWire distributed their software to users who were able to access and share music files through the peer-to-peer service provider.

The judge also required within the 17-page ruling LimeWire must alert its employees, investors, and customers of the action. The site must file a progress report of with the judge showing all conditions were met by LimeWire within a 14 day time period.

On Tuesday, LimeWire posted a legal notice on its homepage showing the order to stop distributing the software. The post warned visitors that ‘downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorization is illegal.’

“Naturally, we’re disappointed with this turn of events,” chief executive George Searle said in a statement. The company was also quick to point out that the injunction only related to the file-sharing software they used. LimeWire as a company is still open but it is not clear what they would be doing moving forward. Searle did say the company was still ‘deeply committed’ to working within the music industry.

The thirteen record companies that initiated the lawsuit against LimeWire said the ruling ‘will start to unwind the massive piracy machine that LimeWire and (founder and chairman Mark) Gorton used to enrich themselves immensely.”

LimeWire was one of the largest remaining music file sharing services still online. Started in 2000, it found success even after Napster and other sites were shut down.

Music-Sharing Site Limewire Must Shut Down Says Federal Judge was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Ford and GM are proving their concern on quality over the last few years resulting in better vehicles and fewer brands coming from the United States. Toyota is still ranked in the lead with its Scion coming in as the most problem-free car for the third year in a row. The Scion was followed by Porsche, Acura, Honda, and Nissan’s Infiniti luxury model. Overall Toyota ranked sixth which is down three places from last year. Lexus brand fell down the ladder to ninth place after it had been in a higher spot in previous years. Ford ranked in 10th place which is up six places from last year.

The Consumer Reports ranking results were released Tuesdays. Vehicle buyers use the data for making their vehicle selections. The magazine itself ranks at number three on the list of informational resources Americans turn to when choosing vehicles. Brand loyalty and peer recommendations are the only two resources outranking the magazine.

Survey takers are asked by Consumer Reports to ignore any recall information unless they have personally experienced a problem. This has allowed Toyota to remain a top contender among the 960,000 survey takers made up of magazine subscribers.

General Motors was the automaker showing the most improvement. Sixty-nine of their models score average or better than average reliability which is up from significantly from the twenty-one models in last years results. This may be due in part to the elimination of Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn.

The complete list of vehicle rankings will be available in the Consumer Reports December edition of the magazine.

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The competition between MySpace and rival Facebook has been ongoing. MySpace claims a user-ship of 100 million users compared to the 500 million Facebook maintains. MySpace says the main component of the change is that the site is not content-focused rather than people-focused as it was in the past.

Personal profiles still are used on the site but the site now boasts the latest content updates on celebrities, TV shows, bands, and movies instead of updates from long-lost friends. The welcome page of the site will consistently update with the latest news. Logged in users will have information displayed the pertains to their specific preferences.

Users have the option to choose between three user homepages including the traditional, a grid view, and a player view. The traditional uses a list view for information. The grid view is similar to a magazine-style content provider. The player view is a new television-style format that places an emphasis on video.

MySpace has also partnered with entertainment partners including MTV, Access Hollywood, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, and Just Jared celebrity blog. Resident ‘experts’ will be enlisted to provide information on certain topics in the entertainment industry and cultural trends.

MySpace has also instituted a reward program where users can earn badges for their social activities on the site. The reward system has been called ‘Reputation’. The company is also planning to release a web-based mobile version of the new site. It plans to release an app for the iPhone and Android later in the year.

Currently the site is still in beta version but will be made available to worldwide users effective at the end of November.

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The recall is a proactive measure taken by Toyota to fix potential manufacturing flaws in all its vehicles. 750,000 in North America are affected while the rest of the recalled vehicles are in Japan, Asia, Europe, and Australia. The models involved were made between 2004 and 2006.

Toyota has had to recall about 8.5 million vehicles in the last year due to various hazards including gas pedals sticking under floor mats or jamming up. The slow process for previous recalls and the criticism by policy makers in the US even got Congress involved.

Toyota has promised to improve on the customer service and the quality of its vehicles. The company has even established a global committee to oversee quality and pay more attention to complaints made by customers. Toyota said that announced recalls were a ‘step toward increasing quality’.

In the most recent recall, vehicles will need to be repaired due to the potential for the brake’s master cylinder leaking brake fluid which can lead to loss in brake power. Another problem involves an electrical problem with the fuel pump that leads to engines stalling out. The fuel pump issue involves mostly vehicles sold in Japan. To date, Toyota has not received any reports of these issues resulting in accidents.

Toyota owners involved in the recall will start receiving information via mail next month. Dealers will repair the brake master cylinder issues without cost to the driver.

Toyota (NYSE: TM) Issues Another Recall for 1.5 Million Vehicles was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Now the bank will impose stipulations on basic checking accounts including minimum balance requirements and out-of-branch-only banking. The move by Bank of America may be a sign of things to come across the board at other banks. Free accounts may soon become a thing of the past. Wells Fargo was the first bank to stop free checking.

Bank of America launched the eBanking account service in August. This service allowed customers who banked solely online to have a free checking account. The stipulations with this banking program is the free account would require a $8.95 if they needed to access assistance from a branch teller or wanted to obtain paper statements.

Other changes have been instituted by Bank of America. An Emergency Cash option was made available to customers who wanted to make ATM withdrawals which exceed their current account balance. The charge for the service is $35 and the customer must directly except the charge before accessing the cash, unlike with a overdraft fee.

Not all banks have ceased their free checking options as of now. There are still banking institutions trying to keep up with free checking account offers including but with the need to make up profits since the recent changes made in the banking industry, it is likely consumers will have a harder time finding a new checking account provider totally free of charges.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Cuts Out Free Checking Offers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The risk of not fixing Fords involved in the recall is serious car fires. Ford vehicles with defects in the cruise control system have been catching fire even when turned off and unattended. The problem lies in a fault disconnect switch that can overheat and burn. O date, more than 550 vehicle fires have been linked to the recalled switch.

Ford has acknowledged the rate of repairs for the faulty systems have been ‘lower than typical’ but would not say how many actual vehicles have been repaired. Ford is cooperating with the NHTSA in encouraging drivers to get their vehicles in for repairs.. The automaker says it has contacted vehicle owners multiple times to inform them of the recall. They will continue to make the effort to reach all affected customers.

The NHTSA fears used car owners are not aware of the recall or may not know if the vehicle was ever repaired for the faulty cruise control. Since 1999, 17.5 million Fords have been involved in the recall. They estimate several million Fords are still on the road without being repaired. Ford has since announced 8 different recalls in a 10-year time span due to the faulty cruise control switch. Ford stopped using the switches made by Texas Instruments in 2002.

Warning signs that you may be at risk of a fire include a cruise control system that stops working or can’t be activated. Your brake lights may also stop working or your brake fluid may become suddenly low. Drivers may also get notified of brake warning lights or malfunction with ABS systems and have difficulty getting their Ford vehicle out of park.

Owners of Recalled Ford (NYSE: F) Vehicles Encouraged to Act on Repairs Now was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Verizon will offer a month to month data plan without a contract for a $20 monthy fee. It gives users 1GB of mobile data each month. The Tab is set up for free Wi-Fi too brownse in public places or at home.

Verizon will also offer Verizon-branded services for the Tab including V CAST Music, VZ Navigator, Kindle for Android, and Blockbuster on Demand. The Tab operates similarly to a phone but no voice calls are allowed. Consumers can still take pictures, send texts, and allows for video messaging.

Verizon is comfortable with the $599.99 sales price and is confident consumers will find value in the Galaxy Tab. Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Marni Walden said of Verizon ‘The Samsung Galaxy Tab brings together the reliability of Verizon Wireless’ 3G network and the power of Android 2.2 to deliver on our promise of providing consumers and business customers with a host of options to help manage their lives.’

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Children have also reportedly become injured after becoming trapped in the strollers. Small children have fallen through the opening located between the tray and the bottom of the seat, causing the neck to become trapped, leading to injury or strangulation.

The recall involves older models of the Quattro Tour and MetroLite strollers and travel systems which were sold between November 2000 and December 2007. The systems were manufactured before the industry standardized bigger openings between the tray and seat bottom in January 2008.

The strollers and travel systems were sold nationally at baby retailers including Babies R Us, Kmart, Sears, Target, Walmart, Meijers, and Burlington Coat Factory. The prices ranged from $90-$190 for the strollers. The travel systems sold between $190 and $250. Both the strollers and the travel systems were manufactured in China.

Consumers can call 877-828-4046 or visit Graco’s website to receive a free repair kit. The US Consumer Products Safety Commission has a list of the specific model numbers involved in the recall.

Consumer Alert: Graco To Recall 2 Million Baby Strollers After Fatality Reports was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Mazda has said they are not looking to team up with any other company. Ford is Mazda’s top shareholder having bought 25% of it’s outstanding shares in 1979 and then upped its shares in 1996 to 33/4%. Both companies share the same platforms on some vehicle models and conduct joint operations in the US and Thailand.

CEO of Mazda, Takashi Yamanouchi, said at a press conference “We have an agreement with Ford under which we will continue to cooperate in areas of mutual benefit,”. The press conference was held to also announce Mazda’s plan to release a gasoline-engine powered compact that will match the fuel efficiency of some of the hybrid vehicles.

Automakers are all working to meet the higher standard of fuel efficient vehicles around the world. Mazda is on tap to become the latest Japanese company to offer fuel-efficient conventional vehicles. Mazda will launch the new Demio vehicle in Japan in early 2011 and a next generation gasoline vehicle in North America later in the next year.

Ford (NYSE: F) and Mazda to Continue Partnership was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The move, voted on by the Federal Communications Commission at 5-0, will allow new regulations to be written to alert customers when they come close to exceeding their monthly service plans. The FCC believes the measure will not cause phone companies additional expense due to the technologies available today.

The proposed changes would require voice alerts or text messages to customers close to exceeding plan limits on text, voice and data plans. It would also require alerts when customers are going to be charged roaming fees or other international charges.

The phone companies however do not feel the regulations are even necessary. Most believe they already give their customers plenty of opportunity to track their billing throughout the month.

The FCC begs to differ and has already investigated many consumer complaints of mysterious fees cropping up on their phone bills. Verizon Wireless has been investigated for overcharging 15 million customers for data. The agency has received nearly 800 complaints about shockingly high bills in the first half of the year with charges going over $1,000. The largest complaint filed with the FCC was a bill totaling $68,505.

‘Bill Shock’ Warnings to Be Issued by Verizon (NYSE: VZ), AT&T (NYSE: T) was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Google is said to be now in a precarious place for Internet searching. Facebook approached Microsoft for the project and not Google, the current market leader. CEO of FAcebook Mark Zuckerberg said at a press conference there was a reason he went with Bing over Google. He stated ‘”They really are the underdog here. They’re incentivized to go out and innovate. They have all these smart people and are trying to do all these new things.”

In turn, Google says it welcomes the challenge and the competition that expands the choices of the user. Analysts however say the new partnership might pose trouble for Google, despite its current position on top.

“Let’s face it, Bing has been a big disappointment, but this could act as a differentiator,” said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at Yankee Group Research. “People prefer Google to Microsoft, but they prefer Facebook to Google. If the partnership makes Facebooking better, then it could pull users away from Google.”

To make things even more interesting, it has long been rumored Google is working on a social network site of its own, potentially called Google Me. The company has not had much success with social networking n the past with their Google Wave and Google Buzz sites.

Facebook, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Topple Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)? was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Because the pharmacy chain did not monitor sales of the drug, it helped meth traffickers in Southern California and Las Vegas obtain large amounts of pseudoephedrine, contributing to the rise in meth production in California.

This is the largest civil penalty ever to be paid out under the Controlled Substances Act. As part of the agreement between the federal prosecutors and the pharmacy, CVS has also agreed to forfeit $2.6 million in profits it received from illegal transactions.  US Attorney André Birotte Jr. said in a statement “CVS knew it had a duty to prevent methamphetamine trafficking, but it failed to take steps to control the sale of a regulated drug used by methamphetamine cooks as an essential ingredient for their poisonous stew.”

Criminal charges will not be pursued because CVS admitted to the charges and agreed to enter a compliance agreement with the federal government. CVS stated they will continue to cooperate with federal prosecutors on the case.

The allegations in question occurred between 2007 and 2008. The issues have since been addressed in regard to the sale of the pseudoephedrine containing medications. CVS Caremark CEO Thomas Ryan made a statement to the press which read in part ‘CVS pharmacy is unwavering in its support of the measures taken by the federal government and the states to prevent drug abuse.”

Shares of CVS fell nearly 2% Thursday afternoon.

CVS (NYSE: CVS) to Pay Out Big in California Meth Case was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

iPads can be purchased in-store at Walmart locations and can be ordered through the Walmart website. However, orders placed online must be picked up at a store location. The $499 price tag for the basic model with 16-GB, Wi-Fi enabled system at Walmart and other retailers will face some stiff competition from Target. Starting Sunday October 17, Target will be offering store card holders a 5% discount which gives almost a $25 discount on the iPad purchase.

Apple had a busy month in October when the iPad was listed beyond the Apple stores and the specialty electronics stores. Besides Target, the iPad went on sale through Amazon where it was only sold previously through third-party vendors.

Walmart plans to sell all six versions of the Apple iPad starting at the $499 price fot the 16 GB and increase in price with the $829 price tag of the 64 GV Wi-Fi plus 3G iPad model.

Walmart Sales of Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad Start Friday was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The project would go from New Jersey to Virginia in the Atlantic Ocean and would serve as ‘an underwater backbone’ 15 miles offshore for various wind farms. The first phase of the project is expected to cost at least $5 billion and could be providing service by 2016. The operation would make it more feasible for offshore wind developers to set up shop without creating individual transmission lines.  This saves both time and money in the long-run of the wind development industry.

Google has agreed to take a 37.5% stake in the initial stages of development on the project. New York-based Good Energies has also agree to take the same stake in the project. One Google’s blog, the company’s Green Business Operation Director, Rick Needham noted the project ‘”offers a solid financial return while helping to accelerate offshore wind development — so it’s both good business and good for the environment.”

The New York Times is reporting the deal is far from done and the project still has some issues to deal with before construction can start. One primary issue is that effective 2012, federal subsidies for the wind power installation construction will expire before permits could be issued by the US Department of the Interior.

Another issue with the proposed project affects the state of Virginia whose energy costs are currently the cheapest. The projects completion would mean the costs of energy would be evened out through the region and Virginia officials are opposed to the project.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to Back Up Wind Project was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The original log, a blue square emblem featuring the Gap name in white was replaced with a white backdrop featuring a blue square in the upper right-hand corner. The logo change went hand-in-hand with the company’s clothing line update aimed at consumers in their early 20’s and 30’s. Gap was looking to take their design from “classic, American design, to modern, sexy, cool”.

After the new logo was added to the company’s Facebook page, more than a 1,000 people took the opportunity to publicly protest. Gap responded to the critique  and welcomed suggestions from the crowd.

Marka Hansen, Gap’s brand representative in North America released a statement that said in part “We are clear that we did not go about this in the right way. We recognize that we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn’t the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing.”

The company decided to go back to their iconic logo effective today. Gap also owns Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Athleta. Hansen stated ‘There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way.” Sales at Gap stores in North America have been on the decline for six consecutive months while Banana Republic and Old Navy have seen gains this year. The parent company as a whole has not seen annual sales increase since 2005.

Gap (NYSE: GPS) Dumps New Logo Idea After Protest was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The employee speaking out now works for a real estate agent. Part of her responsibilities relates to short sales for homeowners who have loans through Bank of America. The woman spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear the lender would seek retribution through her current clients.

The former employee worked at Bank of America as part of their call center staff. She was instructed to follow a phone script which involved congratulating customers on their loan modification approval and then set up a notary to deliver paperwork to the homeowners. The woman now says she feels like the actions were not being offered as a convenience to customers but in an effort to pressure homeowners into making decisions they were not ready to make about a home loan modification.

The employee, who is bilingual, feels the worst of the pressure fell on Spanish-speaking customers who did not understand the documents they were signing because they were all written in English. The employees at the call center did not have access to the documents homeowners were receiving and therefore could not help explain what was going on. The former employee did state she did advise customers to seek outside legal advice but admits she was told by her employers not to do so. She was later fired for taking a photo on bank property.

Bank of America has addressed pressuring of homeowners’ claims by issuing the following statement: “Bank of America has a long standing tradition of providing the Hispanic community with Spanish language assistance for their home loan needs. We are always looking for opportunities to improve our communication and we will review the final permanent modification process to provide our Spanish-speaking homeowners with additional support where needed.”

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Reevaluating Loan Modification for Hispanic Customers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The manufacturer has announced the defect could result in steering column connections detaching causing drivers to lose control. The connections were either not tightened enough or were not assembled correctly. The National Highway Transportation Safety Board has posted information on its website regarding the recall. Recalled Sonatas were manufactured between December 11, 2009 and September 10, 2010.

The car manufacturer had a previous recall of some 47,000 Sonatas earlier this year. In February, the company received customer complaints about the front-door latches on the vehicles not closing properly. The automaker replaced door latches as part of the recall when it was discovered a mechanical problem was preventing locks from latching properly in rare instances.

Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co, lost its vice chairman who resigned after a global recall was issued affecting more than 100,000 vehicles with defective wiring problems. Hyundai and Kia together make up the fifth largest automotive group in the world.

If you have a vehicle affected by the Sonata recall, contact your local Hyundai dealer to schedule an inspection appointment. Owners of recalled vehicles are requested to bring their Sonatas to a local Hyundai dealer for a steering column inspection. The service center will inspect the column and update the power steering software free of charge under the recall. Hyundai owners can also contact 888-327-4236 for more information about the recall.

This latest recall comes in the wake of Toyota’s massive recall last year relating to gas pedals. Vehicle manufacturers are stepping up their efforts over safety and quality control. Sales for Hyundai in the US were up 17 percent, even though August sales were shown to be down by 11 percent from one year. Hyundai’s Sonata has also seen nearly double in sales during August.

Nearly 140,000 Hyundia (HYMLF)Sonatas Recalled in the United States was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Both Microsoft (NASDAQ: MFST) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) have long been proponents of the move. Google posted a blog that expressed their happiness with the FCC for paving the way for a ‘Wi-Fi on steroids’.

The Chairman of the FCC, Julius Genachowski, stated he anticipates opening up networks that contain used airwaves between television channels known as white spaces, will ‘serve as a powerful platform for innovation’. The FCC hopes new wireless devices created with Super Wi-Fi technology in mind will be developed within a year.

Technology experts say the white spaces left over from television going digital are an ideal spectrum for broadband locations because they allow for high capacity signals to travel further. Additionally, the signals can penetrate through obstacles, allowing broadband services to be delivered to areas that currently do not have high-speed access to Internet. The move will allow a new class of wireless services that have no limitations.

The freed white space areas will be available to all users and will not require a license. The vote by the FCC will require the creation of an FCC country-wide database of frequencies used by licensed television channels and microphone users. Device manufacturers and networks would then need to check the database to find vacant frequencies within the spectrum of white spaces. The order will also require placing two unused VHF channels aside for minor users of wireless microphone devices.

FTC Announces Approval of Super Wi-Fi, Move Championed by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MFST) was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

It is hoped that by instigating the civil lawsuit, it will act as a deterrent to other illegal pharmacies that hope to cash in on online drug purchases. At the heart of the matter is the practice of the online pharmacy is supplying medications to on line subscribers without prescription. Google intends to add other rogue pharmacies that break Google’s advertising policies.

Google is adamant that their policies, safeguards and guidelines are continually changed and upgraded to prevent such illegal selling practices. The rogue pharmacies however continue to grow and become more sophisticated with their ability to get around the guidelines. Google has noticed that there are a number of new illegal online drug stores and they continue to try and sometimes succeed sidestepping Google’s safety net, using Adwords in a more sophisticated manner. Adwords is a self-service systems that integrates ads alongside relevant text and search results.

“Rogue pharmacies are bad for our users, for legitimate online pharmacies and for the entire e-commerce industry—so we are going to keep investing time and money to stop these kinds of harmful practices,” Google lawyer Michael Zwibelman stated in a blog post on Tuesday.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Filing Civil Suit Against Online Rogue Pharmacy was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

According to the announcement from drug regulators in the US and Europe, Avandia will no longer be sold in Europe. Patients in the United States that use Avandia will be allowed to fill Avandia prescriptions provide they have a doctor’s proof that other diabetes medications have been tried unsuccessfully and that all patients still using the medication have been fully briefed about AVandia’s potential for significant heart risks.

Due to the suspension and limited sales, Avandia’s profits are expected to plunge to next to nothing. Authorities in other areas are also expected to follow through with similar limitations and requirements.

The drug manufacturer of Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), has defended its drug for a long time. They consider Avandia to be safe and effective for treating diabetics. However, GlaxoSmithKline has been ordered by the FDA to halt a controversial study that compares Avandia with another diabetes medication Actos, manufactured by Takeda. In July, the FDA allowed the Tide trial to continue provided GlaxoSmithKline stopped recruiting new patients. The company was allowed to continue testing with any patient already involved in the trial.

Avandia, once the largest-selling medication for diabetes treatment in the world, was first approved in 1999 as a treatment for controlling blood sugar in diabetics. Avandia worked to make patients more sensitive to their own supply of insulin. The drug then saw sales decline quickly after a 2007 study by a Cleveland cardiologist found that the drug increased patient’s risk of a heart attack. Despite the early findings, an advisory board voted to keep the drug on the market.

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The Home Affordable Modification program fell short of its initial expectation. The program was created to help three million homeowners who could no longer afford mortgage payments. However, more than half of the 1.3 million applicants of the Home Affordable Program were dropped from the program because they were not eligible for the assistance. In order to qualify for a permanent modification on a mortgage loan, a borrower must participate in a trial modification which requires three consecutive mortgage payments and the completion of the necessary documents.

Rebecca Mairone, default servicing executive at Bank of America Home Loans stated “Our HAMP results in recent months show a reduced number of customers starting new trial modifications, due mainly to the implementation of a full-documentation requirement. As a result, we are seeing a smaller increase in completed HAMP modifications month-over-month at this time.”

When a homeowner is not eligible for the government’s help, the bank looks for alternative foreclosure prevention initiatives. Bank of America offers homeowners second-look modifications for those who do not qualify for HAMP but who are still able to prove their ability and intent to make mortgage payments if they were more affordable.

Bank of America has also developed a streamlined cooperative short sale options who do not qualify for any home mortgage modification plan. In some circumstances, Bank of America may provide a cash allowance to assist a homeowner with transitional expenses, including the costs of moving and rental deposits in exchange for the deed to the property

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Head Above the Rest for Home Modifications was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

General Electric makes an electric vehicle charger known as the WattStation. Together with a Better Place, the company will work to promote the awareness of electric cars to consumers and battery financing.

While hybrid gas-electric vehicles like the Toyota Prius are becoming more common on the highway, consumers are still wary of electric vehicles due to their high costs and the limited life of the vehicle’s battery. But auto makers are working to improve electric vehicles to make them more attractive to consumers. General Motors is working on the Chevrolet Volt and a handful of states in the US are set to offer financial incentives for the purchase of these electric vehicles.

General Electric and Better Place are looking to create a battery financing program which would start with 10,000 batteries in Israel and Denmark, California-based Better Place’s first two markets. They also operate out of Australia. The companies are also looking to standardize battery charging services for consumers. They also are looking to lobby the owners of fleet vehicles and convince them to convert over to electric vehicles. They also have plans in place to bring more awareness of the economic and environmental advantages of electric vehicles.

GE’s WattStation will be compatible with the service network provided by Better Place. Currently, Better Place’s business model requires the separation of owning a car and owning a battery. In most cases, electric vehicles rent a battery. GE and Better Place note their partnering will enable drivers to roam between charge points with companionable systems.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Partner and Promote Electric Vehicles was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The bankruptcy filing will place in control the owners of its senior secured bonds. The company’s brick and mortar stores, its online service, and kiosk locations will still remain fully operational during the bankruptcy proceedings which are said to last only a few months in the US Bankruptcy Court of New York.

Back in August, Blockbuster informed the major Hollywood players they were anticipating closing 500-800 of their US store during the bankruptcy process starting this month. The company has said it will continue to evaluate its US stores to enhance the profitability of its retail operations. Concerning foreign operations, Blockbuster has stated that operations will continue as normal in Britain, Mexico, Canada, Denmark, and Italy. However, the company’s Argentina location was not longer going to be supported. Blockbuster is likely to put more emphasis on its digital services and kiosks to remain competitive in a constantly changing movie rental market.

Activist Carl Icahn has been an investor in media stocks for a long time. He is currently the biggest shareholder in Lions Gate Entertainment and is said to own at least one-third of Blockbuster’s total secured debt. During the company’s reorganization, Icahn will need to pick two of the seven members of Blockbusters board of directors after bankruptcy is complete. He will also select a third member jointly with Monarch Alternative Capital, an investment firm.

Blockbuster’s largest creditors are the Hollywood studios themselves. The court filings for the bankruptcy show that the company owes $21.6 million to 20th Century Fox, $20 million to Warner Bros., $13.3 million to Sony Pictures, $8.6 million to Walt Disney Studios, $8.3 million to Universal Studios, and $7.9 million to Lions Gate Entertainment. The movie studios are said to remain support of the efforts by Blockbuster to get back on track as they want to see competition for Netflix and Redbox rental companies. In April, the second largest DVD rental company Movie Gallery, Inc went out of business due to the heavy competition.

Blockbuster Video (NYSE: BBI) Goes Bust, Files Bankruptcy was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Compact pickup trucks are not selling as they once were and demand in the US is waning. The compact Rangerfirst hit the US market in 1982 and demand peaked in 1999 when 348,000 trucks were sold. Sales last year dropped to a mere 55,600. Previously, the company had announced its intention to close a manufacturing plant in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2008 but never confirmed if the compact Ranger assembly would be continued. In August, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty met with executives at Ford to convince them to reconsider and save the jobs of the plant’s 750 workers. Ford remained firm with their decision and will close the plant in the fall of 2011.

Ford now plans to invest and market a larger variety of F-150 pickup trucks which includes V6 versions. The new version of the Ford Ranger is said to be closer in size to the current F-150 being sold in the United States.

There is one industry where the Ford Ranger is still a popular commodity. The fleet customers of Ford have been loyal to the model. Ford is hopeful they can persuade Ranger customers to consider their Transit Connect van once the Ranger has been discontinued in the US.

No More Ranger for Ford (NYSE: F) in US After 2011 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

A company source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the bank hasn’t made an official announcement, suggested employees subjected to immediate dismissal would range in seniority from managing directors down to junior analysts.

According to Bank of America, more than 800 people were hired in the last 18 months outside of the United States. It is not known how many new employees were added in the US. The dismissal of 400 employees is said to not be a sign of strategy changes at the bank. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan told attendees at last week’s Barclays Capital conference in New York that the company ‘is confident that we’ll move to number one in investment banking in the world.’

Bank of America’s banking and markets business where many cuts are to be made brought in a profit of $1.4 billion during the first half of the year which is a 35% drop from one year previous.

Bank of America is not the only back cutting back on staff. Analysts suggest that five of the largest banks on Wall Street will take in their lowest revenues in this third quarter for investment banking and trading since the fourth quarter of 2008 when revenue totals were in the negative billions.

Analysts weighing in on the cuts said they would expect to see other types of employee cuts to occur at other banks as they work to find the right amount of staff and work to improve revenues.

Is Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Ready to Fire 400? was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Citigroup has asked a US District Judge in Manhattan to dismiss the lawsuit from Terra Firm, which alleges it was lead into believe that Cerberus Capital Management LP was also a bidder for the EMI, the music recording and publishing company. 

The judge did dismiss two of the claims made by Terra Firma but rejected the bid by Citigroup to dismiss all allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment. The judge has stated he will release a more detailed opinion on the ruling at a later time. The ruling was not yet available on the court’s website but a copy of the order was provided by Terra Firma as confirmation.

Citigroup’s argument is that there was no evidence one of its bankers knew Cerberus Capital Management wasn’t planning to bid on EMI when he told the buyout firm’s principal buyer about a plan to bid $4.07 a share for EMI.

London-based Terra Firm’s spokesperson delivered a statement that said they were looking forward to the October trial and were pleased the judge rejected Citi’s effort to avoid a trial.

The case is Terra Firma v. Citigroup, 09-cv-10459, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). Citigroup or its representatives have not made a public comment on the trial.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) to Stand Trial for Misleading Private Equity Firm was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Citigroup froze Mayo out in late Auguest after he essentially pointed the finger at the bank for using deferred tax assets against the rules of accounting. Mayo’s complaint contends that Citigroup is using the tax assets to boost the bank’s net income, making it seem more profitable than it may actually be.

While the bank has undergone worst scandals, this one suggests a larger problem within the bank. Banking executives are aware of what is happening but it is likely the problem is an impossible one to resolve because of its status after its recent financial crisis.

Citigroup find it’s difficult to define its identity because it is now a mix of executives and other businesses acquired under Sanford Weill. The mix includes the bank, Citibank. There is also the brokerage firm, Smith Barney and the investment bank, Salomon Brothers. There are also lesser names included in the mix such as Golden State Bancorp, Associates First Capital, and Banamex.

Citigroup has worked to streamline business and has cut nonessential divisions and assets but the turnover and controversy among the executive branch has been disastrous. As the Wall Street Journal reports ‘It’s a melting pot that never melted’.

The bank has stated that the turnover at the senior management has been stabilized and 23 of the 25 managers from 2009 are still in their same positions, adding stability within Citigroup. The company is working towards reestablishing its corporate culture which it has long been absent.

Chief executive of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit, is suspected to be the force behind Mayo’s ban though the bank denies the insinuation. Pandit is not exactly comfortable in the role as a leader of one of the country’s largest banks. Rarely does he do interviews and has a propensity for overreacting to criticism from any source.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) Bans Analyst Over Accusations of Tax Assets Misuse was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Employees were alerted to the strategy for merchandising via an internal memo earlier this month. Bill Simon, CEO, created four core areas in the merchandising department including general merchandise, food, softlines and consumables, and health and wellness. The change is said to make each customer channel even more competitive, allowing the retailer to improve how they ‘target and localize merchandise’.

Some investors were surprised at the move in light of declining same-store sales in the US for five consecutive quarters. The declining trend is predicted to continue in the third quarter. The decision is said to emphasize the theory that Walmart is focusing on prices instead of trying to overhaul its strategies completely.

Over the summer, Walmart tried boosting its sales with aggressive rollbacks on store prices. The company has said the move did not produce the results they were hoping to achieve. The economy was noted as a factor for consumers who were not inclined to spend even with big discounts.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Holds Off on Hiring Head of Merchandise Position was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Elop will be replacing Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, a thirty year veteran of the Finland-based company. Kallasvuo will stay on as a member of the board for Nokia Siemens Networks. Elop, a Canadian, will be the first non-Finn to head up Nokia.

Nokia is hoping to replace some of the ground they lost to Apple which has taken away $61 billion from the company’s market value. The company hopes that by appointing a software executive as head of the Nokia brand the company can ‘face the challenges of moving from a hardware-driven business model to software’.

Elop has stated that Microsoft and Nokia brands may do additional work together. Both companies have had difficulties with software products for smart phones, especially in light of the competition from Apple’s iPhone and the Android OS. Nokia’s foray into the smart phone niche but was forced to cut prices while losing profits defending it’s share in the market.
 
Elop is a computer engineer by trade and joined Microsoft in January 2008. Microsoft has not named a replacement for Elop but posted a statement on the company’s website calling Elop ‘good steward of the brand and business in his time here.’ Nokia began it’s CEO search in late May. Several internal employees were considered for the position before Elop was selected as a potential candidate.

Elop is quoted by the Associated Press as saying about his new position “My role as the leader of Nokia is to lead this team though this period of change, take the organization through a period of disruption. My job is to create an environment where those opportunities are properly captured, to ultimately ensure that we are meeting the needs of our customers while delivering superior financial results.”

Nokia (NASDAQ: NOK) Hires Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Head as CEO was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

According to Engadget, the in-store inventory for the Target store show an unnamed product listing at the same pricing guidelines as Apple’s iPad. Sources say picture proof of the upcoming product launch show the iPad will be stocked in the ‘Digital Audio’ department alongside Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader and Apple’s iPod. It is believed that Target will sell the iPad at six different sales levels which range from $829 for the 64GB model with 3G and $499 for the 16GB WiFi-only models.

When iPad was launched early in 2010, Apply executives stated that sales would be limited in the number of locations including premium resellers and the national electronics retailer, Best Buy. Apple also stated expansion of sales to brick-and-mortar establishments would be expected over time. It is believed that Walmart, the largest US retailer, would be selling the Apple iPad by the end of the year.

Apple has experienced additional supply and demand issues even before expanding their retail locations. Continued strong sales have place long delays for consumers ordering online. Currently, Apple’s website has reduced shipping times to just 24 hours. It seems that any previous production issues have been resolved.

While there is no concrete evidences of the retail move for Apple, it does seem as though Apple’s plans to expand are moving forward.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Rumored to Aim for iPad Sales at Target (NYSE:TGT) was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Apple has stated that all iPhone 4 phones purchased after September 30 would be sold under the normal return policy of 30 days to receive a full refund. The phone was launched in June but the problems came about soon after due to the positioning of the antennae. Users experienced dropped calls when they placed their hand in the lower left corner of the phone. The antennae were causing a distortion to the wireless signal when touched by users.

Steve Jobs called a press conference to address the issue and offered an apology to iPhone customers. Apple has stated that only 1 percent of the total iPhone 4 customers experienced dropped call problems and said they were not considering a modification to the phone’s design. A company representative declined to comment on any design changes. iPhone 4 sales are still outselling supplies and here is a current shipping delay of three weeks for new orders according to Apple’s website.

The company now believes the overall antennae issue was much smaller than originally thought but also acknowledged they would review the cutoff date for issue free cases after further investigation of the situation was completed.

It is estimated that it cost Apple as much as $200 million dollars for the free cases. That includes lost revenues from any cases the company would have sold if not for the giveaway.

Consumers still in need of an iPhone 4 case can visiting the Apple website to download the iPhone Case Program app from the App Store. The app can be launched on your iPhone and you’ll need to sign in with your Apple ID or iTunes store account information to choose the case.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Stop Free Case Program September 30 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The malware program called Rogue:MSIL/Zeven can morph itself into any browser. This leaves users of Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Firefox open to attack. If users happen to ‘click’ on the malware warning link, it will connect to a fake antivirus software page. This software identified as “Win7 AV“ is another rogue site that draws unsuspecting computer users in by mimicking the classic Microsoft design and feel, right down to the fonts, text and pictures. It is so well copied that even trained professionals are tricked by its look.

The scam hopes to draw concerned computer users to see the ‘fake’ warnings and then purchase the bogus software. The fake software claims that it will protect the computer from the exact software that it is being attacked by. The truth is however, that the warnings are phony, there is no threat and the software doesn’t eliminate the malware.

The tell tale sign of the bogus alert is a misspelling in the warning. The Firefox warning page has a “get me our of here and upgrade” button that is a sure giveaway. The biggest giveaway is that the browsers’ virus alerts and warnings never send users to a product page in an attempt to sell them upgrades.

Although not a malicious attempt to attack a computer it is a social engineering scam that builds on the fact that users will more likely trust a warning from within their own system (i.e. Microsoft), than a random ‘pop-up’ security risk feature.

At the Microsoft Malware Protection Center,  the blog identifies that “a common indication that you are not looking at the actual browser warning is the offer of some sort of an ‘update’ or ‘solution’”. The rogue offer hopes that users will upgrade and purchase a solution from their bogus site. Remember, Microsoft Security Essentials provides malware and virus protection for free. So if a purchase is required it may be a scam.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Warns Users of Fake Virus Alerts was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Microsoft has made its position known and is phasing out on the development of Windows XP and as a result PC makers, such as Dell, also have to bow to the developers upgrades. The deadline to shift over to the new OS, Windows 7, is October 22 and any computers shipped after that date will not have Windows XP home or Windows XP Professional installed.

As outlined in the Dell Computer blog, the writer says, “that we will stop offering XP as an option for customers starting this month in preparation for next month’s deadline”.

Dell will offer the XP to a select few qualified customers. If consumers don’t qualify they will have Windows 7 installed and also they will be able to run XP applications on their new computers.

Windows 7 has not been as popular as Microsoft would have liked and users are comfortable with XP.  To hasten along the change Microsoft has decided to ‘pull the plug’ on the XP and encourage people to upgrade.

Windows 7 has some interesting features such as Jump Lists. Here users can right-click and ‘jump’ to specific files within an application. For example, by right-clicking Word, a list of the most recent files will pop up. By right clicking Internet Explorer, a list of frequently visited sites will appear. Some people also think that Windows 7 is faster as well.

For every plus there are people who do not want to upgrade. The Cyber Cynic blog outlines reasons for not wanting to upgrade. The blog points to lackadaisical security features and expense as two main reasons that computer users will not want to upgrade.

Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) Not Including XP as of Next Month was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The humiliating recall was issued after five of the Ferrari 458 Italia became overwhelmed with heat and burst into flames. Identified by the car manufacturer as ‘thermal incidents’, the cars, located in Europe, US and China were considered a complete write off and left the owners wonder why the $ 230,000 vehicle could succumb to such a fate.

Extreme heat and a defective bonding agent are thought to have initiated the meltdown. The glue used to hold the heat shield in place, designed to protect the wheel arch from the exhaust pipe and road debris such as stones, melted. The glue, no longer having its ability to keep the heat shield in place, caused the heat shield to fall on the hot exhaust pipes and ignite.

It appeared that there were no inherent problem with the model but rather a combination of extreme conditions associated with driving on twisting roads, hills and the unusually warm summer conditions.

It is unlikely that the manufacturer will be hurt by the recall as it has accepted the responsibility for the flaw and is contacting owners to replace the heat shield. Ferrari will replace the glue with ‘screwed in’ heat shields.

The high performance luxury car was inspired by the legendary Formula 1 driver Michael Shumacher and manufactured near Bologna, Italy. The eight cylinder car has a top speed of 202 mph (325km/hr) and was launched in 2009 at the Frankfurt car show.

Owners who have had cars damaged as a result of the recall will get a replacement car.

Ferrari Literally Burning up the Roads was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The DesMoinesRegister.com reports that Costco stores, supplied by local egg farms, have been subject to a massive recall. Once thought as a wholesome country breakfast staple fresh the farm, chicken farms operated my Hillandale Farms Of Iowa and Wright County Egg and Quality Egg mass produce around 2.3 million dozen eggs every week from Iowa farms.

Inspectors for the food department of Costco were supposed to see the rodent infractions. In this case the hen house inspections were performed by an outside firm and the focus was to ensure that the birds were being treated in a human nature. The inspectors are not required to investigate salmonella prevention programs instituted by the farm. As a result the salmonella infected eggs were picked up by Costco distribution and placed on local shelves.

Some think that the US Department of Agriculture inspectors should have picked up on the rodent infestation during their inspections. The USDA however provides a grading service that grades the eggs and on their condition. They do not have a mandate to check the henhouse or check on the farms’ prevention programs.

The recall has caused Costco to rethink their safety standard for eggs. “There are a lot of guys going, ‘Hey, wait a minute. They’re finding stuff and our guys were there and they didn’t see it,’ ” said Craig Wilson, who oversees food safety for Costco. One way to prevent salmonella in eggs is to have a salmonella prevention program which includes inoculating the hens against salmonella. Providing vaccinations will not be 100 percent fool proof, but it will prevent egg contamination.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST) Eggs Not What They’re Cracked Up to Be was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Lending is still slow for banks in the US. Banks are trying to ease up on their standards for lending for select loans but banks note that lending will not begin to increase until consumers and businesses regain confidence. Companies need to hire and consumers need to spend. There are some good signs that efforts by the federal government to stabilize bank lending is working. For the first time since 2006, there has been a decline in the number of loans that have gone three months or more passed due. Additionally, the amount of loans being charged off by banking institutions has been on the decline for most of the major loan types.

Banking profits totaled $21.6 billion in the second quarter, which hare the highest quarterly earnings since the crisis in the industry began. The FDIC is reporting that two-thirds of the banks in the US are reporting improvement each quarter.

Right now the list of troubled banks stands at 829 which is the highest since 1993.  Previously only 53 banks were at risk of failure during the previous quarter. One year ago, the FDIC’s list included 416 banks on the watch list. Banks on the list are considered to be at risk of failure but most of the lenders have actually hit a point of failure.

829 US Banks Still At Risk Says FDIC was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Annual Gold memberships will increase from $49.99 to $59.99 and the three-month rates will rise from $19.99 to $24.99. One-month subscriptions will go up to $9.99 from the current $7.99. The online service is used by members for multiplayer online games like the popular ‘Call of Duty’ game. Prices will also be rising for international players in Canada, the UK, and Mexico.

Microsoft announced the changes yesterday. No specific reason was given for the pricing changes. Larry Hyrb, director of programming for Xbox Live did say the company has added more content and services to Xbox Live since its inception in 2002 but over the years prices have been the same since that launch. The November changes will be the first to date.

Microsoft will offer a discount to any member who renews their subscription to the service before October 31. One-year Gold memberships can be purchased now for just $39.99. Members can renew through the Microsoft website or through online retailers, such as Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), who are charging the same discounted price but do not have a limitation on the number of subscription cards that can be purchased.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Ups Pricing for Xbox Subscriptions For First Time was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The Priority Inbox is designed to help users focus on the messages coming in that are a priority. Google’s Gmail which already filters bad emails into a spam folder automatically, will use the Priority Inbox system to highlight the good messages. Google engineer Doug Aberdeen stated ‘It’s like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules.’

The Google Priority Inbox is offered as an opt-in service. It splits your inbox into three different sections: Important and unread, starred, and everything else. As the incoming messages are received, Gmail will automatically highlight those considered important based on a series of factors including emails from people you email often, messages you open and reply to, and which you tend to skip over. The more Google Gmail is used, the better Priority Inbox will work for users.

Google announced the official release of their beta test of the Priority Inbox system yesterday on their official blog. The company is asking Gmail users to test the system over the next week. Priority Inbox is also available to those who use Google Apps. To locate the Priority Inbox, users will be able to locate the link in the top right corner of their Gmail account screens on the in the tab located in Gmail settings.

Some users have already posted feedback online and not all reviews are positive. Some Gmail users feel that they are actually missing out on important emails based on the selection process of Priority Inbox.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Makes Emails a Priority was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The Common Cents Mobile brand is a pay-as-you-go plan that is geared towards customers looking for low-cost wireless service without the bells and whistles. Customers using the Common Cents plan will pay 7 cents a minute for regular phone calls and 7 cents for each text. The service is prepaid and the service will round user minutes down to the nearest minute. Callers essentially will get more call and text time for their money. There is currently a limited time offer of 200 bonus minutes for voice calls for first-time customers that initially replenish their phone accounts.

Sprint is aiming to expand the market for customers who are not interested in committing to two-year contracts for wireless phone services. The Common Cents plan is one of four brands Sprint has been working on. Other Sprint brands include Virgin Mobile USA which caters to younger users who use their mobile phones to send texts and surf the Web. Boost Mobile also offers unlimited options for talk and texting and cater to users who use their phones a lot but need a cheaper service plan. The third Sprint brand is Assurance Wireless which is a specialized brand, proving free cell phones and 200 free minutes for individuals who rely on government assistance programs and low-income customers who need affordable phone service.

The competition for mobile service is tough and customers are often paying the price through rising costs. Sprint is hoping to capture the market of customers tired of the high costs of cellular and wireless services with their four new brands which offer low-cost services without the commitment of a contract.

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) Offering Common Cents at Walmart (NYSE: WMT) was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Citigroup has reportedly tried working with homeowners to make payments more affordable by reducing principal amounts owned on the loan for consumers who were upside down on their loans. Bank of America (NYSE: BOA) is another lender who has been offering customer reductions. But not all lenders have been offering such reductions and not all homeowners will qualify for principal forgiveness plans.

Consumers and experts agree that these modification cancellations are one of the main issues facing the Make Home Affordable program. Critics do not feel the program has been making much of a difference and leaves homeowners stuck without many alternatives for help. Homeowners can not take advantage of the program because so many are being initially denied for the modification or finding that their trial modifications have been cancelled because they can not meet the payment requirements each month. Some homeowners are able to again an alternative payment arrangement after their modification loans have been denied. Others are forced into a short sale of their home to avoid foreclosure.

The Make Home Affordable program has had its share of issues but believe that homeowners still have the opportunity for assistance in getting mortgage help through the program. Homeowners are encouraged to seek assistance from the program if they are having trouble meeting their mortgage payments each month especially if they are upside down on their loans. While many have found it difficult to qualify for a trial modification program or have ended up with their trial plan being canceled, in order to stave off foreclosure, alternatives should be pursued before short sale or bankruptcy is considered.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) Cancels Home Loan Trial Modifications was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The recall on the minivan was announced after it was determined that road salt used during winter months caused the axle on the vehicle to rust and eventually fracture. The way the axel of the minivan is constructed allows the slush from the road to be collected, leading to the rusting of the vehicle’s axel. When an axle breaks, the vehicle can become uncontrollable leading to accidents, injuries and even fatalities.

States with snowy winters including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington DC, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, and New Hampshire, will be issuing recalls. Some 112,000 vehicle owners affected by the recall are located in Canada.

Ford has stated they will be notifying all owners within weeks. All Windstar owners are requested to bring their affected vehicles to their local Ford dealers for an inspection and any repairs deemed necessary related to the recall.  Repairs may include reinforcement of the axel or a complete replacement. Ford will also provide rental cars for customers who need repairs.

The company no longer manufactures the Ford Windstar minivans but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating the situation since May after a number of reports were filed with the agency regarding the fracturing of the Windstar axels. To date, more than 1,000 reports have been logged against the minivan.

Ford Windstar Recall Affects 575,000 Minivan Owners was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, NC, did not give specifics about the problem, only citing a ‘temporary system’ error. The glitch only affected the consumer online banking services and not the bank’s ATM or branch services. The company said online users may still have trouble logging in as of today. Service did come back for customers about 5:15pm EST on Friday.

As the company is working to get more customers signed up for online account management, a web glitch like Friday’s could be bad news for both the bank and its customers. Customers get used to the convenience of access to banking services at home but when problems arise, doubts increase as well. Many consumers still shy away from high-tech banking and prefer the brick and mortar banking experience. However, in an effort to keep up with the competition, more banks are offering online incentives to entice customers to make the switch.

Bank of America, no stranger to customer service problems in the past, have many customers already disgruntled with the bank over the last few years. But while complaints are on the rise, it seems the company’s stock is staying steady. Bank of America is still pegged as one of the country’s top banking institutions.

It is not immediately known what the four hour glitch on the website will bring but doubts will likely remain about the reliability of Bank of America’s online banking services. Customers who have grown tired of the lack of service satisfaction may consider moving on to other financial institutions with stable online services and less fees for banking.

Bank of America (NYSE: BOA) Website Down for Customers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

At the heart of the matter is the solar powered system that will be used to provide power to produce the new 2012 compact Ford Focus and the Ford Focus Electric model. People who buy the 2012 Ford Focus Electric can reveal in the fact that a portion of the electricity used to manufacture the car came from the sun rather than from local oil refineries.

In addition to the 500 KW solar panels that will produce electricity, is the storage facility that will accompany it. There will be 2 million watt-hours of stored energy available to use at Ford’s discretion.

An Austin-based energy company, Xtreme Power is pairing up with a Michigan based energy company to provide the $5.8 million plant. Ford is covering around 13% of the total costs or about $800,000 US. The Michigan Public Service commission will pick up $2 million US and Detroit Edison will cover $3 million US of the project.

The Michigan location will allow Ford to draw power from the lithium-ion storage batteries during off-peak times to charge their electric hybrid Ford Focus. Renewable power is employed at other Ford plants. Electricity is produced from wind turbines at the Dagenham Diesel Centre in the UK as well as photovoltaic arrays at the Ford plant in Bridgend Engine Plant in Wales.

Ford (NYSE:F) Uses Solar Panels to Produce Electric Vehicle was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Still in its infancy, the ‘beta’ test gave approved participants, who paid on eBay’s online payment service (PayPal), a bonus of 2 percent reward toward future purchases on eBay items. The participant’s PayPal accounts were topped up with the 2 percent rewards in quarterly gift certificates. The bonus amounts can then be used within 30 days of issue using PayPal for purchasing items on eBay.

For example, any user who purchased a $100 item from eBay would earn $2 eBay Bucks to use for future eBay purchases. Participants can earn up to a maximum of $200 for any one item and up to $500 maximum per quarter.

After the initial ‘beta’ test Marc Steffans, the eBay Bucks rewards program’s senior manager, was pleased with the results and hoped that it would be successful if implemented across the US. eBBay purchasers were tracked and it was found that many used their eBay Bucks soon after they were received to buy other items.

Most items are covered by the eBay Bucks program but some are not. eBay Bucks are not provided for classifieds, real estate, some eBay motors categories or for business & industrial capital equipment. It is also important to note that the eBay Bucks program is only valid through a valid PayPal account.

Redeeming eBay Bucks is easy.  When purchasing an item on eBay with PayPal, the eBay Bucks banked in the PayPal account will be automatically applied to future purchases.

Rewards Program Offers EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) Bucks for Frequent Shoppers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Emil Andrusko, vice president of marketing for Pfizer’s specialty biologics unit said, “The approval of the pre-filled dual-chamber syringe is an important milestone for hemophilia patients”. The prefilled dual-chamber syringe will offer hemophiliac patients with a convenient and easy way to administer necessary medication. The ‘all-in-one’ package can save time for administration of the drug which could save lives.

The dual chambered syringe will hold a freeze-dried powder of Xyntha that will be reconstituted when used. For the first time the Xyntha powder and the diluents are combined within one dual chambered syringe. The dual syringe will provide, by intravenous (IV) injection, after the freeze dried powder is infused with the diluents of 0.9% sodium chloride a predetermined dose of Xyntha.

Pfizer identified that the first available pre-loaded syringes will provide 3000 IU of xyntha, the highest dose available in a low 4 ml volume. Other dosages will be coming out in prefilled dual chambered syringes in 2011. 

People with hemophilia A have a deficiency in a blood protein which is required for the blood to clot and stop bleeding. Hemophilia A is caused by the absence of or a deficiency of the protein factor VIII. Xyntha is a recombinant factor VIII product and is used for the patients with a congenital factor VIII deficiency or hemophilia A.  Nurse coordinator at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Sue Geraghty identified the innovative syringe “as an all-inclusive, travel ready kit, the prefilled dual chamber syringe offers patients with hemophilia A convenience in reconstituting Xyntha, saving them both time and effort”.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) gets Thumbs Up for Pre-Loaded Syringes was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The news of the reception was first reported by the New York Times and the issue continued to gain momentum resulting in a press conference with founder, Steve Jobs at the helm maintaining that all was fine.

The iPhone 4 came available in June users complained that when the phone was held in a certain way there was a drop in reception. As a response for the issue Apple told uses to hold the phone in a different way, which did not go over to well. Apple offered free ‘bumper cases’ to help smooth over the reception issue.

FOX News reports that Apple former Senior Vice President for mobile devices left after just 15 months with the company. This is not the first time Papermaster is in the news. The former IBM executive was sued by IBM in an effort enforce the ‘noncompetition agreement’ when he was hired by Apple. IBM and 25 year veteran of IBM, Papermaster, reached an agreement and he was permitted to begin employment with Apple.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the departure of Papermaster is more than just the result of the antennae issues. At the crux of the matter is the personality conflict with Apple founder, Steve Jobs, as well as ongoing trouble with internal corporate politics. The engineering and technology expert is thought to have found it difficult making the change to the creative flair that is required by Apple executives.

Bob Mansfield, who is the head of engineering for the Macintosh line of products, will be replacing Mr. Papermaster.

‘Antennagate’ Results in Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) Executive to Resign was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Teradata, known as specializing in data warehousing and enterprise analytics, is sponsor of the FIRST Robotics Competition known at the FIRST Tech Challenge. To be eligible for the scholarship high school seniors must show an interest in science and technology and demonstrate strong leadership roles at school and within their community. In addition, students must plan to attend a sanctioned university in a science, math or engineering related field.

Susan Baxley, the director of community relations at Teradata Corp, says, “It’s exciting to see what theses students have accomplished already in their lives. They are great academic leaders in their schools or community”. It is hoped that their interest in technology will continue and they pursue science and technology as a career.

Teradata is also a supporter of the development of young minds. They support the LEGO League. At the FIRST LEGO League, elementary and middle school students build LEGO robots that perform a variety of tasks. There are several categories depending on the age groups and interests including:

• FIRST ® Robotics Competition (FRC ®)
• FIRST ®Tech Challenge (FTC®)  for high school aged students
• FIRST ® Lego® League (FLL) for 8 to 14 year olds
• Junior FIRST  ® Lego ® League (Jr. FLL) for 6 to 9 year olds

High Tech Firm Teradata (NYSE:TDC) Announces Winners of Its FIRST College Scholarships was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

In addition to the great strides most manufacturers have made regarding fuel economy, car builders are making conscious decisions regarding environmentally friendly materials in other areas of the vehicle, like car seats and fabric. Jim Holland, chief nameplate engineer at Ford, outlines that, “Ford has made tremendous strides, not only in improving fuel economy in the new Explorer, but also in using more environmentally friendly materials”.

The foam in the seats of the SUV is made with 40% soy polyurethane made from soybeans. It is estimated that the use of the soy foam or ‘bio foam’ has reduced Ford’s oil consumption by 10,500 barrels and helped them reduce carbon emissions by 11 million pounds.

Fender baffles, inserts between the wheels and the body, are now made from left over steel from other vehicle manufacturing rather than using virgin steel. GreenCarCongress.com reports that in addition to saving Ford money on purchasing new steel, it will in turn reduce the associated CO₂ emissions from steel manufacturing by approximately 119 tons – “about the same amount emitted by a midsize car driving the circumference of the earth 14 times”.

Carpeting and the fabric on the seats are also made from recycled material. The use of recycled material nets a reduction in the energy consumption of around 20% and a 14% reduction in carbon emissions associated with the seat materials.

“By increasing the use of recycled or renewable content in our vehicles whenever possible, Ford is helping reduce waste to landfills by millions of pounds. And the new Explorer is no exception,” said Amy Marentic, group marketing manager.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Ford (NYSE:F) Explorer is 85% Recyclable was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

In addition to the horses themselves, the wagon, harness and supplies will arrive on the fair ground on Monday. The Clydesdales have their own itinerary and are scheduled for a rest day on Tuesday with horse shoeing demonstration. Wednesday through Saturday the horses will perform and be displayed throughout the show grounds between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Hitching begins at around 4:30 p.m. It takes approximately an hour to make the harness and hitch the eight horses of the famous beer company.

Hughes is ecstatic about the opportunity to have the Clydesdales at the fair. “This is a once in a lifetime chance to get them here”, he says and he is hopeful that the public will come out to enjoy them.

Now mostly posing as a marketing act the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales are a throw back to the long standing tradition of the draft horses that were used to pull beer wagons. Hence the name ‘draft’ horses as they were used to pull the wagon loads of draft beer from the distillery to merchants.

The recognizable Clydesdales are used for their striking size, around 18 hands or 6ft at their back, and their particular breed standard of brown coats and flowing white stockings.  The horses are harnessed to the trademark Anheuser-Busch red wagon complete with Dalmatian. The history of the Dalmatian is as a protector. Its purpose was to guard the wagon and the contents (beer) while the driver was making deliveries.

Famous Anheuser-Bush (NYSE:INB) Clydesdales to Perform at Hartford Fair was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The Washington Post reports that the company blamed the change in taste to elevated levels of chemicals used for packaging. Consumers reported that their cereals were different and had an out of the ordinary taste and smell. Some even reported stomach upset and diarrhea as a result of eating the cereal. Kellogg’s maintains that there are “no harmful materials” in the products.

The suspected contaminant resulting in the odd taste is a chemical used in packaging called 2-methylnaphthalene. Kellogg’s officials are being requested to provide the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations information regarding Kellogg’s efforts to keep consumers safe from hazardous chemicals such as 2-methylnaphthalene.

The two House committees were also requesting Kellogg’s to provide documentation regarding policies and procedures that outline the safety of their products. This includes the safety of the cereal and other food products from chemical contamination that may be hazardous to human health.

The committees are also requesting specific documentation regarding the most recent recall of breakfast cereals. They are requesting information regarding how the cereal became contaminated, the extent of the contamination and any actions taken as a result of the company’s investigation.

The committees are demanding full disclosure of the recall and hand over documentation by August 16^th. Although the breakfast cereal makers maintain that there is little chance of serious illness from the chemicals present, one study has shown that 2-methylnaphthalene may cause lung injuries in adults. The breakfast cereal maker says in its recall that there is little chance of serious illness.

Consumers Gobsmacked By Kellogg’s (NYSE:K) Cereal Recall was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

A press release issued on July 30^th outlined that P&G voluntarily issued the recall of some of it’s pet food manufactured at one facility. It was identified that some products made at one facility may have been contaminated with salmonella. As a result P&G have recalled all of the products made at this particular facility.

Representatives of P&G are quick to qualify that no canned dog food, biscuits or treats, supplements or other dog food is affected by the recall. The following products are included in the recall:

• Iams Veterinary Dry Formulas – Cat and Dog formula, all sizes, all varieties.
• Eukanuba Dog Dry Naturally Wild – All Varieties including Naturally Wild Samples in all sizes.
• Ekanuba Dog BG Pure – All Varieties including Puppy, Maintenance and Large Breed in all sizes.
• Ekanuba Dog, Custom Care – All Sensitive Skin varieties in all sizes.

A full list of foods with UPC codes can be found at www.iams.com.

P&G caution consumers and advise them to discard of the products carefully and wash their hands thoroughly as people who handle dry pet food can become infected with salmonella. Consumers who exhibit signs of possible salmonella (vomiting, diarrhea, nausea abdominal cramps and fever) are encouraged to see their healthcare provider.

If your pet is displaying decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain after consuming any of the listed products you are encouraged to contact your veterinarian.

Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Pet Food Recall was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The Torch’s sliding signature BlackBerry keyboard is in addition to the 3.2 inch touch screen. It also packs a load of other bells and whistles such as a 5 megapixel camera, 3G network, Wi-Fi and GPS. It will include a mobile web browser and RIM’s ‘next generation’ messaging system and will integrate social networking feeds such as Twitter and Facebook.

The name “Torch” comes from a recently acquired ‘Torch Mobile’ and the device uses the WebKit-based web browser written by Torch Mobile.

It may be the smartest tool in the shed but it weighs in at a hefty 161grams.  It is considered one of the largest of the smart phones available with dimensions 4.37” closed (5.83” slid open) x 2.44” wide x 0.57” thick. The device comes equipped with a 1300mAh lithium battery and is rated for 5.5 hours talk time and 17 days for standby time.

With word leaking out of BlackBerry’s newest device they were forced to show their hand. RIM president and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis recognized that the launch and release of the BlackBerry Torch is one of the most important in the company’s history.

Service provider AT&T has developed a good working relationship with BlackBerry Torch because AT&T’s exclusive contract to carry US iPhones comes to an end soon. This gives AT&T incentive to encourage Torch users to sign up. Calling it the “best BlackBerry ever”, Chief Executive of AT&T’s mobility division, Ralph de la Vega is looking forward to strong relationship with RIM.

RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) Unveils BlackBerry Torch in Hopes of Burning Apple’s iPhone was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Lenders across the board said trial modification have been cancelled because homeowners are not fulfilling the requirements of the Make Home Affordable program. Many homeowners are missing required documentation and paperwork or they can simply not afford to make a payment on their mortgage even with the modification assistance. Some homeowners have been canceled because of their debt to income ratios. Even with the modification assistance, borrowers are still defaulting on loans.

JP Morgan Chase representatives said that homeowners who have had their trial modifications canceled can still see alternative help to stay in their homes and bypass foreclosures. Of the 58,605 homeowners who had their modifications canceled with JP Morgan in May of this year, 31,973 alternative resources were offered to borrowers.

Customers allege after having their trial modifications cancelled, they were not always given an alternative resource for finding a more affordable mortgage payment.  Many eventually had to short sale their homes to avoid foreclosure and hundreds of others filed for bankruptcy protection.

Across the board, those participating in the Make Home Affordable program feel they have been fighting an uphill battle to stay in their homes. Consumers feel like there are too many strict terms for qualification and too little resources for help in getting a more affordable payment. But lenders tend to disagree, citing that the main reason homeowners don’t qualify for help is because they can not afford the home regardless of the assistance program.

Home Loan Modification Cancelled for Some JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Customers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The addition of grains to their products was not an overnight decision. The company spent several years investigating milling processes that would get the right consistency and texture of the flour so it would continue to make their crackers taste and feel the same. Carlos Abrams Rivera, VP for Nabisco Crackers outlined that, “It was critical for us to get the recipe right to deliver the benefits of whole grain without sacrificing the taste consumers expect from their favorite crackers”.

Kraft food is increasing the grain content to its crackers by adding whole grain wheat flour to its recipe. By using the entire wheat kernel, including the bran, endosperm and wheat germ, the benefits of the whole grain can be realized. It was of particular importance to have the grain milled properly as just replacing one type of flour with whole grain flour would change the texture and ‘crunch’ of the cracker.

The transformation began in 2009 when Kraft Foods increased the whole grain content of their Wheat Thins from 5g to 11g for a 31g serving. Over the next 3 years Kraft is schedule to increase the whole grain content in over 100 of its products.

Some products affected by the increase include:

• Adding whole grain to Premium and Ritz Crackers
• Honey Maid Original Graham Crackers (increase whole grain from 5gr to 20g per serving)
• Wheat Thins Toasted Chips (increase from 5g to 17g per serving)
• Original Wheat Thins (11g to 22g per serving)

Kraft Foods [NYSE:KFT] Changing Recipe of Its Famous Crackers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Bisphenol-A is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to various medical problems including cancer, reproductive problems, and other sickness. While BPA has been in the coating of receipts for a long time, it wasn’t until last year when an organic chemist discovered the receipts contained a lot more BPA then once thought. The chemist never officially published the results of his study but the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group promoting green health just released the information about BPA-covered receipts. Additionally, the group took it a step farther and provided consumers with a list of companies passing out the most contaminated receipts.

At the top of the pile, McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) has the highest concentrations of BPA on a single receipt. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and CVS Pharmacy (NYSE: CVS) also produce receipts that contain a significant amount of BPA. Surprisingly, at least one location of the organic Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) chain was found to give out tainted receipts along with their healthy snacks. The testing overall showed that the amount of BPA in store receipts were higher than testing on other products including canned foods and bottled drinks.

The medical aspect of the spoiled receipts has not been tackled and experts do not know how much BPA enters a body after a person handles a receipt though it has been proven that BPA can be absorbed through the skin. Customers who handle a receipt coated with BPA can have the chemical be absorbed through the skin and anyone who handles a receipt and then eats or touches the mouth will ingest BPA. Consumers can decline receipts when appropriate and always be sure to wash hands before eating. Receipts should also be stored in a container away from other household items.

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) Targeted in BPA Health Concerns was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The case is the first one that is focusing on whether or not banks disclosed information about their shaky finances to shareholders in an appropriate manner. The case also marks the first time the SEC has pressed charges against prominent banking executives who were involved in the subprime mortgage bond dealings including Citigroup’s former CFO Gary L. Crittenden and the former head of investor relations Arthur Tildesley, Jr. The SEC alleges both men omitted critical information in their disclosures to shareholders. Crittenden will pay a $100,000 fine and Tildesley is to pay a fine of $80,000.

Citigroup did not admit or deny guilt in the situation as is normal in settlement agreements. The company did state they were ‘pleased that we have reached agreement with the SEC to put this matter concerning certain 2007 disclosures behind us’. Citigroup also held Crittenden and Tildesley in high regard and clarified that the SEC did not charge the bank or either men with reckless conduct.

The settlement amount must still be approved by a federal judge in the District of Columbia. Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay out $550 million in a settlement over claims the bank deceived investors in a multifaceted mortgage deal. Bank of America also agreed to pay $33 million in fines which was rejected by a federal judge in New York, leading to a later settlement agreement in the amount of $150 million.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) to Pay $75 Million in Settlement of Subprime Mortgages was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The lawsuit is seeking class action status and was brought on by the parents of a man in the US military who died in 2004. The parents are the beneficiaries of their son’s $250.000 life insurance policy. The US Department of Veteran Affairs stated they were investigating the practices of insurance companies that put the death benefits of veterans into corporate accounts. The insurance company keeps most of the investment profits and only pays out a small portion to the surviving beneficiaries.

Reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs show the Prudential Insurance collected $982.8 million as the administrator of veterans’ policies in 2009, $144.1 million in income from investments, and held more than $2.5 billion in reserves. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the case state that the money accrued from interest is not money that belongs to Prudential.

Prudential has reportedly been talking with the Department of Veterans Affairs about the allegations. The Chairman and CEO of the company, John Strangfeld, stated ‘It is important that the beneficiaries of our fallen service men and women are treated with dignity and respect during a very difficult time. Given the questions raised over the life insurance program we administer for the Department of Veterans Affairs, we welcome an opportunity to address the concerns and to set the record straight.”

New York’s Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has also launched an investigation into fraudulent practices of other companies involved in the life insurance industry involving the denial of life insurance benefits to grieving family of military members. In Cuomo’s investigation, not only did insurance companies profit from the interest accrued, it was found that initial monies were not deposited with banks insured by the FDIC.

Prudential Insurance Investigated for Fraud Against Veterans was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Beginning August 1, 2010, clothing will be imbedded with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The tags can be read with a hand-held scanner which will assist employees with the inventory and boost efficiency on the floor and in the warehouse.

Using RFID tags is a common practice for large retailers but most tags are located on pallets of merchandise and are used mostly to track inventory from factory to retail outlet. Some consumers are getting chaffed at the idea of having a tracking device in their shorts. One type of tracking device that is being implemented is a passive tag that can be tracked by anyone with a scanner tuned to the correct signal. The tag can be removed from clothing by the consumer, but the device will continue to be trackable even if it sits in a trash can or dumpster.

Once the large retailers such as Walmart start to initiate a program such as RFID tags other retail outlets usually follow suit. In some cases it is for control that the big retail outlets, like Walmart, have over the suppliers. It may also be that retail stores draw from the same supply network as Walmart so the clothes will have tags installed. Other retailers such as JC Penny and Bloomingdale’s have also begun to manage their inventory levels with smart tags.

Privacy advocates are worried that the smart tags are just another way for big business to glean personal information from consumers. A RFID tag could be scanned as people walk the store or tracked even outside the store to see what else the person has purchased.

Even if the original purpose of RFID tags is to track inventory and to increase efficiency, there will always be someone who will use the tool, not for its intended purpose, but use it for personal gain and fraudulent activity.

Walmart [NYSE:WMT] to Imbed RFID Tags on Clothes Beginning August 1 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Having account numbers, bill payment methods and security access PINs and codes available on the app is making banking easier for most consumers. The problem arises when a hacker can easily access this information. Any hacker who can gain access to the phone could ultimately gain access to the information. The way the app has been coded has made its use easy for consumers but the ease of use will also make it a walk in the park for any savvy hacker.

According to the Wall Street Journal,  the Citi iPhone app saves information such as account numbers, bills and access codes, in a hidden file in the iPhone. If someone gains access to the iPhone they would have access to the hidden file and all the sensitive banking information that it holds.

The problem was discovered in a routine security sweep conducted by Citi staff. Citi immediately identified the flaw to its users and acknowledged that other mobile apps such as the credit card app are unaffected. To stem the outrage, Citi advises its approximately 117,600 iPhone app users to upgrade with a newer version that has corrected the problem. The bank maintains that no personal data has been compromised as a result of the flaw.

The mobile app phenomenon is booming and some experts are concerned that security measures are not keeping pace with their development. Whenever there is a positive feature someone will find a way to develop a malicious way in which to use it. When supplying personal information ensure that it is in a secure fashion to prevent the sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands.

Citibank (NYSE: C) Identifies Security Flaw in iPhone App was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

“If the vehicle while being driven is steered to the right with sufficient lateral acceleration, a broken and loose lock bar may move toward the steering shaft. If the engagement hole in the shaft happens to line up at the specific time the broken lock bar has moved, this could cause the steering wheel lock bar to engage, locking the steering wheel, and increasing the risk of a crash,” Toyota said in a news release.

Toyota will contact the vehicle owners by mail and will replace the steering column to prevent any accidents. Although no injuries have resulted from the steering issue, it is not clear if three accidents that have been reported are as a result of the steering defect in the Avalon models. Toyota continues to investigate these accidents.

In addition to the Avalon sedan there will be 39,000 LX470 SUVs recalled. The 2003 to 2007 models are being recalled as a result of steering defects.  Toyota has received no reports of accidents resulting from steering defects in the LX470 models.

The US market is not the only country hit by the recall. Mieko Iwasaki, a Toyota spokesperson, said the company will recall 7,000 vehicles in Japan followed by recalls in US, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Toyota has been plagued by recalls. In January 2010 the company dealt with the recall of the sticky gas pedals that spanned an array of vehicles including, RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia. This major recall put a nick in Toyota’s long standing reputation for quality. The company  was quick to note that their high end Prius, Lexus or Scion brands were not included as they had a different manufacturer make the pedals in these models.

Toyota [NYSE:TM] Issuing a Recall – Again was created by and is property of American Consumer News.