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Get-Out-Of-Debt Free Be particularly wary of cards promising to help "rebuild" your credit, since they tend to have the harshest terms. These cards are aimed at "subprime" consumers -- the roughly 25% of Americans with poor credit history -- and often are issued by smaller banks. Too often such cards can land card holders in even deeper debt. "A lot of these cards are borderline predatory lending," says Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, a consumer Web site. First Premier Bank's Gold Card, for example, appears generous at first glance. It boasts a low 9.9% fixed rate to help card holders "re-establish" credit. But check out this laundry list of fees: account set-up fee (one-time): $29; program fee (one-time): $95; annual fee: $48; participation fee: $72 annually, billed at $6 each month. It also charges $20 a year to get an additional card and $3.95 for Internet access to the account. Someone with a $250 credit limit would have about $72 left after initial fees are tacked on to the card. The Aspire Visa Gold, issued by Columbus Bank & Trust of Columbus, Ga., charges a high APR -- 15.5% over the highest prime rate on the 25th of the past three months -- and tacks on several fees: a $29 account-opening fee, a $75 to $150 annual fee, and a $6.50 monthly maintenance fee. If you pay late, the APR can zoom up to more than 24.75%. (A bank representative declined to comment about the card over the phone, referring a caller to the Web site.) Secured cards, meanwhile -- those with credit lines backed by a security deposit -- have hazards as well. Cross Country Bank's Secured Gold Card charges an APR of at least 23.99%. One late payment and that APR gets bumped up to 29.99% or higher. The card has a $10 monthly maintenance fee and a one-time $50 origination fee. Costly 'Rewards' Reward cards now account for more than half of all consumer credit cards. They're a powerful marketing tool for banks because people like to receive goodies. But sometimes consumers let the allure of a prize lead them astray. Universal Savings Bank's Upfront Reward Platinum offer sounds hard to resist: Transfer a $5,000 balance to the card and get a free laptop. The catch: You must keep a balance of at least $3,500 on the 9.9% APR card for 18 months, or you'll be socked with a $600 penalty. Do the math, and you see you'd pay more than $520 in interest alone for the laptop, which may not be worth much more. "It boils down to just another way to finance a laptop," Mr. Arnold says. If you sign up for a recent new lottery-style offer, Direct Merchant Bank's American DreamCard, you are entered in a drawing for between $25,000 and $100,000. Cardholders receive one entry for each dollar spent on the card up to a max. But the drawings (or rewards) end after one year. Many credit cards that give frequent-flier points have become sour deals. Most of the major airlines' credit cards have annual fees of more than $50, sometimes up to $100. These cards also often come with steep interest rates. Northwest Airline's WorldPerks Platinum Visa charges 14% APR along with a $55 annual fee. The airline also offers its "signature" WorldPerks card that requires a $90 annual fee. Department-Store Cards - High Rates & Fine Print Traps More retailers' credit cards, which had been a good way for young adults to build credit history, are getting complaints from consumers. Some store cards carry interest rates topping 20%, even for people with perfect credit. Stores often advertise low-interest financing, but those deals can backfire if balances aren't paid off in a timely manner. New purchases get tagged with a higher interest rate, but when the card holder tries to pay off the balance, the payment is deducted from the low-interest balance. Home Depot's credit card, for example, advertises "no interest and no payment for six months" on purchases of $299 or more. But if you still carry a balance after six months, you will be charged interest retroactively on the balance you carry.
Do pollsters perform a similar adjustment for party affiliation? Gallup does not adjust for party self-identification, and neither do many other major polls. Zogby International, however, treats party affiliation, as given by voters in exit polls in 2000 and other recent elections, much like age or sex, increasing the weight of whichever party is undersampled. But every scientist I asked has grave qualms about that. Party affiliation can change in four years, or even overnight, as Prof. Zukin found in a 2003 study: When people lean toward, say, a Republican, they then tell poll takers they are Republican. If more self-identified Republicans make the cut of "likely voters," then that reflects that more of the former are likely to vote. Adjusting the results to make party representation "even" will then make the poll less accurate. Which brings us to the challenge of determining who's a likely voter. Gallup uses seven questions, says Senior Gallup Poll Editor David Moore: How much thought have you given to the upcoming election for president? Do you know where people in your neighborhood go to vote? Have you ever voted in your election district? Do you vote always, nearly always, part of the time, or seldom? Do you plan to vote in November? In the 2000 election, did you vote for Bush or Gore, or not at all? On a numerical scale, how likely are you to vote? Respondents can score up to seven. But the determination of who's a likely voter isn't based on raw score. Instead, Gallup notes the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in 2000, roughly 55%, and takes the top 55% of scores. The responses of the bottom 45% don't count. "When you see big changes week to week [in the horse-race polls] it's not necessarily that views of the candidates are changing," says Prof. Presser. What is changing, he and everyone else I spoke to suspects, is who makes the "likely" cutoff. "Someone who got all steamed up by the convention and said they were going to vote for Bush could easily have moved into the 'likely voter' group," says Prof. Presser, displacing someone leaning toward Kerry. How? By getting more points for Gallup's questions on how much thought they've given to the race and how likely they are to vote. You'd think that poll takers could validate their model of who's a likely voter by, basically, calling people back on Nov. 3 and asking, did you vote? "No one to my knowledge has ever done a validation study of a poll seven weeks out, and never a presidential poll," says Prof. Presser. As I said, art as much as science.
So hang with me, please. Let's consider three important words: Demography. Care. Nurture. In the Demographics It's true that world population is rising and will continue to rise for more than half a century. It's also true that we, collectively, will be hard-pressed to provide adequate resources for the increased population. Water is a particular concern. So is energy. I have written about both even though my beat is personal finance. Demography isn't a quick-change subject. If it were a boat, demography would be an aircraft carrier, not a Jet Ski. In demography, 25 years is statistical noise. Fifty years starts to look meaningful. A century can be telling. Decisions made today will only see their full ramifications in 75 years. Here are some figures. • According to recent United Nations figures, the total population of the more developed regions of the world was 1.19 billion in 2000. It will reach 1.22 billion by 2050. The population appears flat because the rising U.S. population covers the declining population of Europe and Japan. • United States population is rising, but what the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta calls our "intrinsic rate of natural increase" has been negative for over 30 years. • The population of Europe will decline by nearly 96 million people over the next 50 years, reaching an estimated 632 million. The population of Japan will fall from 127 million to 110 million. Because the United States, Europe and Japan account for most of the consumption in the world, the pressure on some natural resources won't be as great as it would be if developed world population was rising rapidly. • The population of Russia will virtually collapse, falling from 1.5 billion to 1 billion by 2050. • The population of China will continue rising to 2030, peaking at 1.5 billion, but will decline to 1.4 billion by 2050. • About one-third of the expected population growth will occur in Africa - except that estimates are revised downward year after year to reflect the downward spiral from HIV/AIDS and political anarchy. • Even areas of sustained population growth have rapidly falling birth rates. In India, the birth rate fell by one-third between 1981 and 1997. Focus on Families Phillip Longman directs his concern to the unsung hero of human societies: the family. Most economists treat families as mere tools for consuming the output of business or the purported benefits of government. In fact, no business or government institution can replace the functioning of a family. Without that functioning, society would cease to exist. (Skeptics should check what it costs to institutionally care for an abused child or a parent with Alzheimer's disease.) Mr. Longman sees a birth rate that is literally verging on extinction (nearly half the required rate for replacement) in Europe, Japan and Russia. And he asks questions few are asking. In words - those questions turn on two words. Care. It will become more difficult in such a rapid population shift. Mr. Longman points out that there will be 35 million fewer children in the world by 2050 but 1.6 billion more elderly people. We can measure that by asking what portion of the population will be at least 60 years old in 2050, remembering that in most of human history it has been less than 5 percent. In forever-young America, the figure will hit 26.9 percent, the lowest of any of the developed economies. In Italy and Japan it will be 42.3 percent. In Germany it will be 38.1 percent. These are massive changes. They will absorb the lifetime work of millions of younger people. It will strain - or completely destroy - institutional systems of retirement income and health care that depend on transfers from younger workers. It will put devastating strain on younger households that may have to care for aging parents and stepparents. Nurture. This is what adult parents do for the next generation. Nurture will be increasingly problematic as young couples confront the competing demands of caring (or paying) for the elderly, paying off education debts taken on to be competitive in the job market and paying for expensive housing in the shrinking number of school districts that offer quality public education. Many underestimate the pressure on today's young people. They should read books such as The Two-Income Trap by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi and The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittenden. This is about the human condition. I pray that we can find as much concern for human beings, as a species, as we can find for whales and birds.
The basic idea is that when it comes to health, the past is prelude. By one estimate, "fetal factors might contribute 10% to 20% toward the incidence of heart disease and diabetes," says developmental biologist Peter Gluckman of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. "If one combines fetal, infant and childhood factors, it rises to about 50% to 60%." That makes life before kindergarten as strong a determinant of adult health as diet and lifestyle in adulthood itself. In recent, related research on the shadow that the past casts on current health, biologists Caleb Finch and Eileen Crimmins of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, find a fascinating connection. Rates of mortality from 1751 on show that generations ("cohorts," in demographer jargon) that had lower infant and childhood mortality also had lower mortality, and less cardiovascular disease and cancer, at every age in later life. Although the textbook wisdom is that a lower incidence of disease and greater life expectancy reflect better sanitation, nutrition and medical care, Dr. Finch begs to differ. He noticed something curious in the demographic data. "Declines in mortality after age 70 lag about 70 years behind those for infants," he explains. That is, the very same babies in a cohort with fewer deaths at a tender age grew into adults who made it to old age with less risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke. Coincidence? Dr. Finch thinks not. Instead, he suspects that lower infant mortality reflects, in large part, a lower incidence in that cohort of sometimes-fatal childhood infectious disease, from TB and cholera to measles and plain old strep. Children lucky enough to live when infections were few -- and more of them reached adulthood -- also hit a second jackpot, Dr. Finch argues. Infectious disease also causes inflammation. That leaves "inflammatory molecules," with names such as C-reactive protein, scooting around the bloodstream. Recent studies show the risk of heart disease, cancer and other killers is higher in people with high blood levels of inflammatory proteins. In one fascinating historical study, U.S. Civil War veterans who had infectious disease as young men were more likely to have heart disease after age 50. Even frequent diarrhea during infancy, a sign of infection, is linked to cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Overall, Americans now in their 50s are 15% more likely to have cardiovascular disease, and twice as likely to have cancer, if they had a serious infectious disease in childhood. It isn't clear whether even something as common as ear infections leave such a legacy, Dr. Finch says, but all infections trigger antibodies, and levels of inflammatory proteins reflect how many different antibodies are swimming around the bloodstream. If infections early in life affect the risk of illness decades later, that might explain the demographic trends. "Decreased inflammation during early life has led directly to a decrease in . . . mortality resulting from chronic conditions in old age," the USC scientists write in today's issue of the journal Science. The roots of adult health go back even further than childhood, all the way to the womb. The first studies of "fetal programming" found that men who weigh less than 5.5 pounds at birth have, on average, a 50% greater chance of dying of heart disease than men with a higher birth weight, even accounting for other cardiovascular risks. Other researchers have confirmed the link between low birth weight and both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A U.S. study, for instance, found that women born weighing less than 5.5 pounds had a 23% higher risk of cardiovascular disease than women born bigger. Why would that be? Too few calories, too little protein, too much fat or too few "micronutrients" such as vitamin B12 and folate before birth can adversely affect how the liver, heart, kidneys and bones function for decades. Undernutrition reduces the number of cells in the kidney, for instance. As a result, each kidney cell must work overtime to filter blood and regulate blood pressure. The cells therefore wear out faster, causing a rise in blood pressure and the heart disease that typically follows. But something also is going on at the level of DNA. One version of a gene called PPAR-gamma-2 raises your risk of developing type-2 diabetes -- but only if you were a scrawny newborn. Somehow, adverse conditions in the womb may let bad genes stay on, while healthy conditions turn them off. You can't turn back the calendar and avoid that childhood bout with strep, or get mom to eat better while she was pregnant with you. But you can play defense. If you were born small for your length, you are at greater risk of type-2 diabetes and should keep your weight down. If as a newborn you had a scrawny abdomen, your liver may be too small to effectively clear cholesterol from your blood, so be extra vigilant about cholesterol levels. And try not to blame mom.
Put your ear close and hear the music emanate from the petals. Touch a leaf, and feel it shake as though in a quiet dance. Later this month, you'll be able to carry on a telephone conversation with a flower with a planned speaker-phone model. Unlike regular speakers, which send sound in one direction, Ka-on shoots it in all directions, filling an entire room with music. Ka-on vases and amplifiers come in various sizes, ranging in price from $46 to $460. There's a version that works with potted plants, and a wireless connection will soon be available for piping music to the Ka-on. Not only does Ka-on deliver flowery music, it keeps bugs off plants and helps cut flowers last longer, Gotoh claims. "The plant is happy listening to music," says Gotoh, showing off a rubber plant hooked up to Ka-on in his Tokyo office. "Gerberas and sunflowers work especially well as speakers." The $46 version of Ka-on has been on sale via the Internet since July. About 3,000 have been sold, and some 10,000 additional orders received.
It's a financial modernization act that was passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The biggest change is that banks will be able to transmit and clear checks by electronic facsimile. Under the current rules, checks must be physically transported to the banks that issued them to be cleared for payment. Q: How will consumers be affected? First, banks will not need to return the original checks to customers. They can return photo images of the checks instead. More important, checks will clear much faster — sometimes in a matter of hours. You could write a check to your dry cleaners in the morning and see the money debited from your account by that afternoon. This effectively eliminates the "float" time, or the informal grace period of a day or more that now exists between the time a check is written and the time the funds are actually tapped. Consumer advocates contend that this change could result in millions of bounced checks. Q: Shouldn't everyone know that you can't write checks against money you don't have in your account? True, but consumer activists point out that, just as check writers have floats, banks have their own benefit known as deposit "holds." Under certain circumstances, banks are allowed to place holds on deposited funds. If this happens to a bank customer, money he thought he had in his account to cover his checks may not be available for days — sometimes longer. Holds are covered under the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation CC, which Check 21 does not affect. "There is no change in the funds availability rules," said Gail Hillebrand, senior attorney with Consumers Union in San Francisco. "It could be possible that you could deposit a check and write a check on the same day. The one you write could clear and the one you deposited would not, causing you to bounce a check when you had the funds in your account." Q: How long can a bank legally hold a deposit? That depends on the type of check that was deposited and whether there are extenuating circumstances, said John Hall, spokesman for the American Bankers Assn. in Washington. Regulation CC allows banks to hold local checks — those issued by banks in the same metropolitan area where they are deposited — for as long as two days. Out-of-town checks can be held for at most five days. However, large checks (those for $5,000 or more), checks drawn on new accounts and those drawn on accounts that are consistently overdrawn can be held longer — for as long as 30 days, Hall said. Q: So a bank could bounce your checks when you actually have the money in your account? Yes. But there is a difference between what a bank can do and what it will do, Hall said. There are more than 9,000 banks in the United States, and most are fighting for business. It's unlikely that a bank would be slow to credit customers for their deposits, Hall said, because those banks would lose customers to banks that are more consumer-friendly. Q: What about the issue of returned checks? I like to get my checks back because I use them to substantiate charitable contributions for my tax records, for instance. What do I use if I can't get checks back? The law allows for bank- issued "substitute checks" (essentially certified photocopies) to have the same legal standing as canceled checks, said Laura Schulte, president of Wells Fargo Bank of California. That means these check images must be accepted by courts and tax authorities as proof of payment. Notably, because banks are adding imaging systems to accommodate the new law, they are likely to provide check images online too, Schulte said. That would allow bank customers to view and print check copies at any time. Technically, the copies printed off your computer are not legal "substitute checks," Hall noted. But most courts and tax officials accept them now regardless, he said. Q: What will happen to the original checks? That will vary by bank, but banks are likely to shred or incinerate them. Q: What happens if somebody forges or changes a check? How can I prove it was a fake? Check 21 actually improves current consumer law on this count, Hillebrand of Consumers Union said. Under current law, if a customer says she has been hit by a check forgery — or even a costly bank error — the bank does not need to credit her account until it completes an investigation. Under Check 21, the bank must prove within 10 days that it didn't err. After that, the customer must be credited with the disputed amount, even if the bank's investigation is incomplete. There is also a "right of indemnity" under the law that says that if the reason you couldn't prove a check was forged was that the original was unavailable, you get the money back, Hillebrand noted. Q: When does the law go into effect? On Oct. 28. But not all banks will change how they do things right away, Hall of the bankers association said. The law does not mandate electronic clearing; it simply makes it possible. Some banks don't have the technology in place to clear checks electronically, and they may choose to clear checks the old-fashioned way. But most major banks are expected to put the rules in place this fall.
An e-check, as it is also called, is a one-time electronic debit made from your checking account. So, your checking account statement would reflect an electronic funds transfer. Under electronic check conversion, your check is used simply to obtain information -- such as the bank routing number and check number -- to process your purchase or payment. That information is used to make an electronic withdrawal from your account using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. Many companies are adopting electronic check conversion because it speeds up payment and reduces processing costs. There were more than eight times as many check-conversion transactions in 2003 than just the year before, according to NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association, which develops the operating rules and business practices for the ACH and for electronic payments. NACHA estimates that about 225 million (2 to 3 percent) of checks written in retail stores are converted to e-checks. And approximately 10 percent of all consumer bill payments made by check are now converted into electronic payments, the group says. NACHA also projects that the number of e-check payments is likely to reach or exceed 1 billion by the end of this year. Your check can be converted whether you're standing in the store making a purchase or mailing it to pay a bill. For example, you may buy something and write a check. But instead of the clerk placing your check in her cash register drawer, she scans it and returns the check to you. If this has happened to you, your check was electronically converted. In some cases, you might not have needed to fill out the check. Let me warn you right here: When retailers or businesses use check conversion, your payment may be processed a lot more quickly than if they processed your check the traditional way. So be sure you have enough money in your account at the time you make the purchase or pay the bill. Now, don't go worrying yourself that businesses will have carte blanche to raid your checking account. The company will still have to go through your bank or credit union. Also, for your protection, if you mail a check and the company converts it to an e-check, the original check has to be destroyed within 14 days. "This prevents double billing," said NACHA spokesman Michael Herd. But NACHA rules require the company to keep a copy of the check for two years. Herd also points out that consumers have better protections for electronic funds transfers, which is what e-checks are, than for checks processed the traditional way. For example, with electronic check conversion you have the right to an investigation by your financial institution when an error occurs. If a business is using electronic check conversion, it has to tell you upfront, as required by the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act. You may see a notice at the cash register in a store or you may get a notice in your monthly credit card statement. And, by the way, if a company is converting mailed checks to e-checks, it has to allow consumers to opt out. Just call and ask. Herd said only 1 percent of people opt out. Here are some things to pay attention to when it comes to electronic check conversion, according to the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Reserve Board: • Review your checking account statement to be sure a check was processed electronically only once and for the correct amount. • If you find unauthorized or incorrect electronic transfers on your account statement, notify your financial institution immediately. Getting your money back or correcting the error will depend on how quickly you report the problem. You have 60 days (from the date your statement was sent) to tell the financial institution about the error. • For checks processed electronically in a store, keep a copy of the check in case you need proof of payment. That check will have been voided in some way. Also, hold on to your receipt, which should include the date of the transaction, amount, location and name of merchant. • If you mail a check and a company electronically converts it, you won't get your check back. So keep your checking account statements because they will contain the information about electronically processed purchases and payments. However, if you need a copy of your check, contact the company your check went to; it has to give you one.
ASK FOR A SUBSTITUTE CHECK You get a limited recredit right under Check 21, but the regulations restrict recredit to consumers who were provided with a substitute check. Always ask for a substitute check, which is a special kind of copy of your paper check. If you now get your original checks back, ask for an account that returns substitute checks every month. If your bank charges too much for an account that returns substitute checks every month, look for another bank. EXPECT THE CHECKS YOU WRITE TO CLEAR FASTER Don't write a check unless the funds are already in your account. The checks you write will clear faster, but banks aren't required to speed up the time when they make funds available from the checks that you deposit. DON'T SIGN UP NOW FOR VOLUNTARY CHECK TRUNCATION You have even fewer consumer rights under voluntary non-return of your checks than you'll have under Check 21. Decline invitations from your bank to convert to voluntary check truncation. What are the main effects of "Check 21" on consumers? You won't be able to get your original paper checks back, because your bank will no longer have them. Checks you write will clear sooner, increasing the risk that a check will bounce if funds are not in the account when you write the check. Don't write a check unless the funds are already in the account to cover it. You may not get access to the funds from checks you deposit any sooner, because the new law does not shorten check hold times. After 30 months, there must be a study on whether banks are making funds available to consumers earlier than the allowable hold periods. Banks will save money on processing checks, but banks are not required to share these savings with consumers. Different kinds of copies of a check will have different rights attached. Check 21 creates a new kind of paper copy of an electronic image of a check. This special kind of copy is called a "substitute check." Only a substitute check can be the legal equivalent of the original check, and only a substitute check triggers your right to recredit of disputed funds. A regular copy of a check does not carry these same protections. If you ask for a copy of a check, your bank may send you an ordinary copy instead of this special kind of copy which triggers legal rights and protections unless you ask for a substitute check. A bank other than your bank will have your original check, and will decide whether to destroy it. Neither Check 21 nor other law requires a bank to keep your original check for any period of time. Before Check 21, your own bank decided how long to keep your original checks, if you didn't get them returned with your statement. Under Check 21, the bank of the person you wrote the check to may decide when to destroy your check. Consumers will get new rights for some electronically processed checks, but not for others. When a so-called "substitute check" is provided to a consumer, Check 21 gives the consumer a right to have funds of up to $2,500 recredited to the consumer's account in 10 business days if the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or otherwise paid in error. The statute is ambiguous about whether this new right applies when a paper substitute check is used in the processing of the check but is not returned to the consumer. The regulations restrict the right of recredit only to checks where the consumer was provided with a substitute check. If a check is processed electronically by all the banks it is routed through without the use of a substitute check and the consumer is not provided with a substitute check, then the check remains under state check law. In that case, the consumer does not receive a 10 day right of recredit even if the electronic image of the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or if both the electronic image and the paper check are paid. Consumers who want to maximize their consumer rights should ask for return of "substitute checks" with their checking account statements. Watch out for fees associated with a substitute check-returning account. Look for another bank if your bank charges a high fee to get copies of all your checks as substitute checks. Only the special "substitute check" can be legally equivalent to the original check to prove payment. The copies that a bank sends to consumers under a so-called "voluntary truncation" agreement, where the consumer agrees not to get the checks back, do not prove that a payment has been made, and do not trigger your Check 21 recredit right. Can my bank continue to send me my original checks with my monthly statement? No. Check 21 will make it impossible for consumers to get their original checks returned with a monthly statement, because Check 21 forces banks which now require the original check for processing to accept a special type of paper copy of an electronic image of the original check. This is called a "substitute check." Banks can give this special paper copy of the image of the check to consumers instead of the original paper check. Under Check 21, the original check may stop at any bank in the collection chain. A bank can replace an original check with an electronic message containing the pertinent information if that bank and the next bank in the chain have an agreement to send and accept electronic presentment of checks. Check 21 permits any bank to send a "substitute check" - a paper copy made from the original check or from an electronic image of the original check - to another bank even if that other bank only processes paper checks. Since the original check will no longer be returned to the consumer's bank, it will be impossible for the consumer to get his or her bank to simply return all original checks every month. The consumer's bank will no longer have all of those checks. Consumers who get their checks back now will experience a loss of convenience. Will the substitute check be a full size check? Not necessarily. The substitute check may be of any size, so long as it meets industry standards for a substitute check. Is a substitute check as useful as an original check? No. Certain substitute checks will be legally equivalent to an original check for all purposes under state and federal law. However, the substitute check will not be as useful as the original check for proving forgery or alteration, because it can't be used to determine pen pressure, and it is less useful for handwriting analysis. Will all electronic images of checks be legally equivalent to an original check? No. A consumer whose account agreement does not require the return of substitute checks may receive copies of electronic images, but those copies will not be legally equivalent to the original check. Check 21 does not require banks to offer an account that gives consumers substitute checks with their bank statements. In those states where banks are required by law to give consumers an option to receive their original checks back, banks will be able to send back substitute checks instead. Does Check 21 require that the copies of checks banks send to consumers must meet any standards for size or readability if the copy is not a substitute check? No. Existing state law requires that banks maintain a legible copy of checks for seven years, but not that the copies returned to consumers with statements be legible. Does Check 21 require the bank to get and return an original check if the consumer requests that check? No. Check 21 doesn't require banks to return even a single original paper check on request. However, if there is a dispute about whether the check was properly paid which requires the original check to resolve, then the bank may have to locate the original check if it does not want to resolve the dispute in the consumer's favor. If the consumer needs the original check for any reason other than a dispute with the bank, Check 21 creates no right to get that original check. What will happen to the original checks under Check 21? Check 21 does not impose any minimum time period on banks to keep original checks. Under state law, Uniform Commercial Code Article 4, original checks can be destroyed at any time, as long as the bank has to capacity to provide a legible copy of the check for seven years. UCC section 4-406(b). Will a bank be able to use info from the images of checks to invade the privacy of a consumer or a business? Yes. Check 21 places no limits on a bank's use of information contained in its customers' check images. A bank might build a database using check images to determine which of its consumers shop at certain kinds of retailers, or what kinds of suppliers a business customer uses. Who gets a choice under Check 21? Check 21 offers maximum choice to banks, but not to consumers. Banks may continue to choose to process paper substitute checks rather than electronic images. A bank that wants to process paper can insist that from the prior bank in the collection chain send it a paper "substitute check," but not the original check, for processing. Consumers may no longer choose to get back their original checks. Are there any benefits to consumers? Yes, but consumers won't receive these benefits for all electronically processed checks. Check 21 gives a 10 business day right of recredit of disputed funds, up to the first $2,500 of a check amount, but only if a special paper copy of the electronic image of the check (a substitute check) was provided to the consumer. However, a consumer who has received an ordinary copy of a check, not the special copy called a substitute check, does not have the right to recredit under Check 21 as it has been interpreted by the Federal Reserve Board's regulations. To trigger the right of recredit, a consumer will have to ask for and receive a substitute check. What are the warranty and indemnity rights? Check 21 is confusing. It gives you the remedy of a prompt right to recredit, but only if you were provided with a substitute check. Check 21 also gives you some rights if a substitute check was used but not provided to you, but you can't insist on a recredit within 10 business days to enforce those rights. Check 21 creates two warranties by the bank that creates the substitute check and by all later banks that transfer either the substitute check or a paper or electronic representation of it. The first warranty is a warranty (promise) that the substitute check is legally equivalent to the original check. The second warranty is that the check won't be presented for payment if it has already been paid (no double payment). There is also a limited indemnity when the consumer suffers a loss because a substitute check was used. The details of, and restrictions on, these rights are described in material posted by the National Consumer Law Center in the article, "Banks Will No Longer Return Original Cancelled Checks," posted at: http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/check21.shtml. Why do consumers need the right of recredit? Consumers can be harmed in several ways by the processing of an electronic image rather than the original check. First, both the paper check and the electronic image might be paid (double payment). Second, transferring the check back and forth between paper and electronic formats creates a risk that the amount on the paper check might be changed when it is turned into an electronic image for processing. Third, it may be impossible to prove that a check has been forged or altered without the original check. The switch to electronic imaging of checks means that the original check would not be held by the consumer or the consumer's bank. Instead, one of the other banks in the collection chain would have the original check. It is likely to take longer to find the check, and to get it back if it has not been destroyed, than if the consumer or the consumer's bank were holding it. A recredit right means that the consumer, not the bank, has the use of the funds while waiting to resolve the dispute. When do consumers get a recredit right under Check 21? Check 21 gives a recredit right only when a substitute check is used. The regulations take an even narrower view of this right, restricting it to only where a substitute check was provided to the consumer. Federal law on other types of electronic payments, such as debit card payments, gives consumers a more complete right of recredit. How long will it take to get the disputed funds recredited? The recredit must occur within 10 business days after the banking day on which it is requested, plus the bank gets one extra business day to make the funds available. If the amount in dispute is more than $2,500, only the first $2,500 must be recredited in this time period. Why didn't consumer groups support Check 21? Consumers Union and other consumer groups believe that consumers should have a right to recredit for every check that is processed wholly or partly electronically. Check 21 does not accomplish this, and it leaves open opportunities for new bank fees and new types of invasions of consumer financial privacy. The Federal Reserve Board's regulations interpret the provisions of Check 21 very narrowly. Click here to read the comments filed by Consumers Union and other national consumer organizations about the problems with the proposed regulations on Check 21. What can be done about this confusing situation? Congress should amend the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act to apply its consumer protections to every check that is processed wholly or partly by electronic means. Where can I get more information? For more information about Check 21, see "Banks Will No Longer Return Original Cancelled Checks," posted by the National Consumer Law Center, at: http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/check21.shtml. Tech Tips, Stats & Information People who want to avoid viruses and spyware should consider switching to the Apple Macintosh from Windows. There has never been a successful virus for the Mac's operating system, OS X. There have been theoretical security holes discovered in OS X, but Apple patches them as they are found. There have been viruses created in the lab for OS X, but none has infected users' computers, at least that we know about. Because the Mac operating system is based on Unix, the technical operating system popular with engineers and in servers, it is somewhat harder for viruses and spyware to work on the Mac than on Windows. But the most important reason the Mac isn't a target of viruses and spyware is that its market share is so small that virus and spyware authors get little publicity or financial gain from infecting the Mac. (Walter S. Mossberg, WSJ 9-23) Computer security firm Symantec said that the number of viruses and worms that target Microsoft's Windows operating system jumped 400 percent in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year. In all, nearly 5,000 new Windows viruses and worms were identified between January and June. (Reuters 9-20) Phishing scams, which use bogus e-mails and Web sites designed to look like those of legitimate companies to trick users into revealing personal information, are proliferating on the Internet. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, Citibank has become the most popular ruse, with nearly 500 separate scams designed to fool Citibank customers into divulging sensitive information. Scams directed at Ebay users totaled 285, according to the group. (NY Times 9-20)
Such scams are on the rise, partly riding the huge increase in the volume of automated checking account withdrawals and deposits as part of the nation's wide acceptance of online banking. The system that processes all these requests is now clearing 10 billion electronic transactions a year as consumers abandon paper checks to have their payroll or Social Security funds deposited directly to their accounts or have many of their bills -- such as their mortgage, monthly gym fee or telephone bill -- automatically debited from their accounts. Regulators at the Federal Reserve issued a warning to banks last year citing "alarming changes" in the automated check-clearing process, in which "dishonest persons are using the automated clearing house to originate unauthorized debits." Some scammers are also using sophisticated and cheap technology to print checks and take advantage of a banking practice that allows companies to write unsigned, paper checks on a consumer's behalf for one-time transactions, such as when a consumer wants to pay a bill at the last minute or buy from a telemarketer. Through these unsigned checks and automated withdrawals, thieves can seed thousands of bogus payment requests into that huge system, which was built on the underlying belief that the money in an individual's account is not available without the customer's permission. Crooks who find their way into that flow can walk away with millions without having so much as a phone conversation with the people they are defrauding. Banks are supposed to refund any unauthorized withdrawals, but there are fewer consumer protections than there are for fraudulent credit card charges. It is not always easy to convince a bank that a charge is fraudulent, since banks often argue that using the correct account number is proof it was authorized, consumer advocates say. There are no federal rules instructing banks what to do when a depositor challenges an unsigned paper check. Practices differ among states, including whether it is the merchant's bank or the customer's bank that is liable for the loss. For electronic debits, Federal Reserve Board rules require banks to promptly investigate consumer complaints, and put any money back in a customer's account if the probe takes longer than 10 days. If the bank decides the charge is valid, it can take out the money again. By contrast, credit card companies are liable for fraudulent charges and customers do not have to pay until charges are proven to be valid. It took Greene a few weeks and multiple calls to her bank before she was able to recover the $139 taken from her account. Still, she had to shell out $70 for new checks with the new account number she was given because of the fraud. The days are long gone when only banks had access to account numbers. Behind the scenes are third-party processing firms that handle many of the transactions for merchants, depositing customer checks into banks or processing the customer's electronic account information. These companies weaken the connection between the bank, which is obligated under law to "know the customer," and the merchant who is generating the payment request. "Third-party processors play a pretty major role in the payments business," said Elliott C. McEntee, president and chief executive of NACHA, the electronic payments association. "When a bank permits a third party to process transactions on behalf of a merchant, it's putting a lot of confidence in the third party" to make sure that the merchant is legitimate. "Unfortunately in a few cases," McEntee added, "banks have not exercised their fiduciary responsibilities and they have allowed third parties to enter payments" that are not valid. As reports increased of unauthorized electronic debits, the electronics payment association tightened its rules last summer, requiring banks that use its automated clearing system to more vigorously question companies that had high rates of consumer charge-backs. Now, if more than 2.5 percent of a company's monthly transactions are rejected by consumers, a bank is required to investigate. And if the charge-backs remain high, banks should stop processing that firm's automated payments. The Federal Reserve Board is considering rules that would require a merchant's bank to be liable for unauthorized customer charges made through the unsigned checks, called demand drafts, such as the one posted to Greene's account. Currently, it is up to the consumer's bank to refund the money if it decides the draft is unauthorized. Twelve states now say the merchant's bank should be liable for any unauthorized demand draft. But the Fed wants to make that a national rule, on the premise that that will force banks to be more diligent in policing their customers.
Gerri Detweiler, a consumer-debt counselor in Sarasota, Fla., says she has seen quite a few co-signers learn the hard way. Her general advice? "Don't do it." That's one way to avoid problems. Co-signers take full legal responsibility for the loan, just as if they'd taken it out themselves. The full loan amount appears on the co-signer's credit report and late or missed payments can tarnish your own eligibility for loans. If a primary borrower defaults, the same black mark shows up on the co-signer's credit report. The co-signer may even end up having to pay the full amount of the loan plus any late fees or collection costs. And in many states, the FTC says, lenders can chase after co-signers for repayment before going after the primary borrower. After signing the papers, co-signers should see that the primary borrower pays on time and doesn't default. This can mean having Internet access to the loan account -- just as the borrower would -- and frequently checking in with the borrower and the bank. Ms. Detweiler suggests less-risky alternatives. Prospective co-signers, she says, can either take on the loan themselves or pay the full amount out of pocket and have the co-signer repay them directly. (Besides, if co-signers don't feel the borrower will be diligent in paying back the loan, they shouldn't be co-signing in the first place.) Another option is to help a relative or friend build up enough of a credit history to be able to qualify for a loan without a co-signer. This can be done, for example, by first opening a joint credit card. Or, if you're feeling generous, just give the money as a gift and avoid a potentially more-expensive mess. It's often tough for co-signers to remove their names from loans. One way to do it: refinancing. If primary borrowers prove financial responsibility and make a string of timely payments, they might be able to refinance loans without needing a co-signer. Also, a lender may be willing to just remove a co-signer's name from the loan after several months of on-time payments. But don't count on it. "On any loan, the lender would rather have two people to collect from than one," Ms. Detweiler says.
Toyota's Lexus unit topped the brand rankings [for the 10th year in a row] with 162 problems per 100 vehicles. But Japan's largest automaker also led manufacturers overall, with 207 problems per 100 vehicles, followed closely by Honda with 210 problems. Porsche AG, with 240 problems, General Motors Corp. with 262, and BMW AG with 264, rounded out the top five. The best indivual car was the Lexus's LS 430, which had just 128 problems per 100 vehicles. The worst car in the survey was the 2001 Kia Spectra, with 526 problems per 100 vehicles. The results were notable on several fronts. For one, some European brands are softening in dependability, notably Mercedes-Benz. And Detroit brands did well in certain important truck segments, which are critical to their profits. The Chevrolet Tahoe was ranked as the most reliable 2001 large SUV, beating Toyota's Sequoia. The Ford Ranger was No. 1 in the compact pickup segment, while GM pickups ranked second and third. Ford also had three vehicles ranked No. 1 in their respective segments: The Ford F-150, the Ranger small pickup and the Lincoln Town Car. No Japanese models ranked at the top in the compact pickup segment. However, Toyota models ranked first and second in the important midsize SUV segment. And Japanese brands, led by the Honda Odyssey, swept the minivan segment, which has seen growth in sales during the past year after several years of decline. High-profile European luxury names such as Mercedes, Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar brands, scored well below the industry average and did worse in the 2004 survey than in 2003. "The first time we did this study in 1985, Mercedes-Benz was No. 1 and better than Toyota," said Joe Ivers, executive director for quality and customer satisfaction at J.D. Power and Associates. Just two European brands improved their scores from a year ago: Volkswagen and Audi.
Cell phones interfere with the navigation and communications systems of the aircraft. - "I've never experienced a navigational problem that could be traced to a cell phone," says one veteran pilot who didn't want his identity revealed. "From everything I've read, cell phones and most avionics shouldn't conflict." So why do flight attendants make you put away your gear before takeoffs and landings? "That's more for making sure [we] have people's attention and for [individual] safety," he says. "If I have to hit the brakes and abort a takeoff, I don't want a laptop flying across the cabin." Cookies track everything you do on the Internet. - Wrong. If you're worried about cookies, turn them off in your browser (although doing so will render many sites virtually unsurfable). Opting out of spam gets you even more spam.- "No one has done a complete test of this because it's difficult, if not impossible, to prove," says Ari Schwartz, associate director for the Center for Democracy & Technology. "If you do opt out and get more spam, how will you know you wouldn't have received it anyway? Knowing who to opt out from is key," says Schwartz. "Opting out of legitimate companies drops you off their lists, but when you do that with 'real' spammers, the results are unclear." Hackers can destroy data on your computer's hard drive. - "The MyDoom.f worm took a step back into an era where viruses actually attacked data," says Bryson Gordon, a senior manager with McAfee Security. But for the most part, today's hackers want to hijack systems, not destroy them. Rather than wipe out data, worms and viruses want intact PCs to send spam or to attack Web sites. Turning off your PC daily to save power shortens its life. - Here's a topic that provokes debate. One side argues that turning the PC on and off stresses components. The other side says it's a good thing; even the best programs and the OS can get cranky without occasional shutdowns. There's no definitive answer. Most authorities, however, lean toward the idea that shutting off does more good than harm--plus it saves power. Only a pricey surge protector can keep your devices safe. - "I don't see a direct relationship between the cost of a surge protector and the protection it provides," says Joe Wilson, a senior electrical engineer with Eugene Water and Electric Board, the utility company that serves Eugene, Oregon. "Most surge protectors are based on the same sort of technology, and the response time (how fast they switch on) is similar across the board.
Included in the survey were 154 adults in 30 states who were asked to review their credit reports for accuracy. Because some subjects ordered their reports from multiple credit bureaus, they completed multiple surveys, resulting in the submission of 197 surveys. Most of the people who participated were PIRG members. Norm Magnunson, vice president of public affairs at the Consumer Data Industry Association, said. "If PIRG proposes to serve [with surveys] 154 of their own employees and members and then come up with an answer, I think that they got an answer they wanted. A 25% error ratio doesn't stand the test of the reality of the marketplace. If lenders were making credit decisions based on a product that was faulty one-quarter of the time, their loss rations would be sky-high, and they're not," Mr. Magnunson said. How to Check Credit Bureau Reports Kathy Kristof LA Times 6-29-04 How do consumers check these reports, and what do they look for? Here's a step-by-step guide: Request reports. Any consumer planning to make a major purchase should get copies of his or her credit report from all three major credit bureaus, Mierzwinski said. That typically costs $8 to $9 per report. Married couples need to get copies of each spouse's reports. In the future, consumers will be able to get free copies of their credit reports once annually. However, this right, won through the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, does not go into effect until December on the West Coast. The East Coast gains access in September 2005. You can request reports by calling the credit bureaus' toll-free service lines. The numbers: Experian: (888) 397-3742. TransUnion: (800) 888-4213. Equifax: (800) 685-1111. Spot signs of identity theft. Credit reports are usually set up in several parts. The first part contains the consumer's personal information, including name, address, birth date and Social Security number. Then there are sections listing credit data; public record information, such as tax liens and court judgments; collection proceedings; and credit inquiries, said Evan Hendricks, author of "Credit Scores & Credit Reports: How the System Really Works, What You Can Do" (Privacy Times, 2004). Hendricks suggests that consumers first check their personal data and credit inquiries for signs of identity theft. Identity theft is when a crook uses enough personal information about a consumer to apply for credit in that person's name. The crime has reached epidemic proportions, according to the FTC, which estimates that 10 million consumers were victimized in 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The red flags of identity theft include inaccurate personal information. ID thieves commonly change your address so they will get the bills for charge cards they have opened and not tip you off to the scam. Another red flag is a "hard inquiry" from an unfamiliar lender. What's a hard inquiry? It's an inquiry from a lender, such as a bank, credit card company or auto finance firm that is checking your report with the intent of providing credit, and it shows up on your report. Other types of inquiries, such as those marked "PRM" (for promotional offer), typically reflect companies that are planning to pitch you something, such as a new credit card. Those types of inquiries don't have to be initiated by you, whereas a hard inquiry does. If you see a hard inquiry from a lender that you have not contacted, call the fraud alert number on the credit report, Hendricks says. That should stop the identity thief from opening more accounts in your name and allow you to erase accounts opened by the thief from your report. Check credit, collection and public information. The section of the report that shows credit information normally will note when each account or loan was opened, your balance outstanding and your credit limit, as well as whether the loan is in good standing. Aside from the obvious checks for mistakes — cards that were closed or that belong to someone else — Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. Public Interest Research Group's consumer program director. Mierzwinski suggests looking for missing information. One common error that the Public Interest Research Group discovered was missing credit limits, he said. These limits are important because when the credit limit does not appear on the report, credit scoring software assumes that the current balance — or, when noted, the high balance — related to that card is the credit limit. That can make the consumer appear to be running his or her cards up to their maximums, which lowers the credit score. Another common error: Public record information, such as tax liens, legal judgments, child support arrears and the like, is sometimes accurate but out of date, Mierzwinski said. If you had a tax lien but it has been cleared, have the credit bureau update the file. Finally: Correct mistakes. If there are errors or omissions, Hendricks suggests you send a letter spelling out the mistakes and providing any proof you might have to establish your case. For instance, if the address on your file is incorrect, you can send a utility bill to establish your correct address. If your file is merged with someone else's ("juniors" are often confused with their namesake fathers, for example), you may have to send a copy of your birth certificate to straighten things out. Keep records of everything and maintain a calendar, Hendricks says. Credit bureaus are required to investigate inaccurate items within 30 days or erase the disputed information. The consumer should expect to hear the results of that investigation within 45 days and get a corrected copy of the credit report. If the credit bureau hasn't contacted you within that time, Hendricks says, try again. More FICO/Credit Questions Pamela Yip, The Dallas Morning News 6-27 Do credit reports deal with individuals or households? When you ask for a credit report, you will receive a report on you, the individual. "There's no such thing as a joint file," Bob Cutrone, senior vice president at Equifax, said. The only situation in which a credit report reflects a joint situation with your spouse is if you have a joint account, and that will be reflected on your individual credit report. One crucial thing to keep in mind in the case of a joint account: "In a divorce situation, if I'm a joint holder with my ex-spouse on the account - if my ex-wife is responsible for paying that account - that doesn't remove that from my file," Mr. Cutrone said. That's because it was originally granted as a joint account, and you and your spouse signed a contract agreeing to pay the bills arising from that account. "A divorce decree doesn't change that contract," Experian says in advice to consumers on its Web site, www.experian.com. "When you divorce, each of you remains fully liable for your debts." During divorce negotiations, keep your joint bills current, even if you ultimately will have no responsibility for the debt, Experian advises. "If you don't, your creditors could become more reluctant to release one party from joint liability," the company says. It's not easy. Why does this all have to be so complicated? Because you're dealing with human behavior, for one thing, the credit agencies say. For example, credit reports can vary through simple information, such as name and address. "The average consumer gets 12 accounts, so we get 12 different versions of their name and address information," said Maxine Sweet, vice president of public affairs at Experian. "It's not at all unusual to have significant variances in that." That can cause a lot of trouble. What's even worse is if you have different Social Security numbers. "It's not at all unusual to have different Social Security numbers associated with one name," Ms. Sweet said. "Sometimes people don't write very clearly on applications. The same thing occurs in spelling a name. You also get transposition errors in typing." When applying for credit, make sure you fill out your information clearly, so no confusion will occur. When you use credit, who determines which of the three credit bureaus gets to record the transaction? Or do all three get the information? "It's all up to the creditors," Ms. Sweet said. "Typically, if they buy credit reports from a company, they will very likely report to that company." Do lenders typically pull all three credit reports when evaluating whether to extend you credit? "Lenders do not typically pull all three reports, except in mortgage loans, because that is such a high-dollar loan amount," Ms. Sweet said. Prior FICO/Credit Articles: Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, Credit Score Simulators - Jennifer Bayot, NY Times, How to Rasie Your FICO - Kadet, WSJ / Kristof, LA Times
Industry insiders say high-tech DNA tests could soon sweep the beef industry, if they prove economical. Although farmers have been breeding cattle for millennia to improve the quality of beef, big producers are hoping genetics will give them more accurate ways to predict which animals are destined to be beef jerky and which will yield five-star steak. The tests will let Cargill decide which animals to pamper, and which to fatten and kill as quickly as possible. The genetics approach also could lead to new brands of steaks and other cuts on supermarket shelves that guarantee good results. Cooks often complain that beef quality can be unpredictable. Cargill carried out its project with genetics company Metamorphix, beginning two years ago. Metamorphix scientists, using a map of the cow genome, compared genetic markers from more than 3,000 cattle against traits such as how fast they gain weight.Cargill's genetics project identified markers able to predict a handful of traits, including a steer's ability to produce marbled meat -- the intramuscular fat that is a big factor in tenderness. Cargill says it also has found markers that predict the genetic ability of cattle to convert feed into muscle, which could help Cargill select cattle that grow more efficiently in its feedlots. Its four Caprock feedlots in Texas and Kansas fatten more than 600,000 cattle annually and its Excel Corp. meatpacker unit is the nation's second-biggest beef packer. The highest priority is a test that can accurately predict tenderness. Steven Kappes, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., says it is one of beef's most elusive properties. "You can't see it and it is hard to measure," he says. "You really need a DNA test to be able to sort cattle by tenderness." Cattle lacking the genes for tasty meat, for example, might be denied expensive diets since they aren't as likely to be valuable. Cattle expected to yield the highest quality beef are typically fattened more gradually and given fewer growth-promoting drugs. Cargill is keeping its own genetic findings secret for now, as it seeks patents on newly discovered genes. But the company says it plans to market the technology to its meatpacking rivals as well as ranchers. The retail cost of the blood test has yet to be determined, but Cargill officials say it will have to be less than $20 a test to be economical. Genetic screening also could help bring order to one of the most chaotic parts of the food chain. So far, the cattle industry has resisted the factory farming techniques that have swept through the chicken and hog sectors. Companies such as Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods have brought down the cost of raising chickens and hogs by rearing them indoors and controlling every aspect of their lives. As a result, the quality of retail packages of pork and chicken has grown more consistent. Beef cattle, however, are slow to reproduce and are still raised on open land. More than 800,000 farmers raise all sorts of cattle breeds and crossbreeds, leaving beef packers to cope with a wide variety in the quality of the cattle they buy.
While some nondoctors with substantial medical training -- including nurse practitioners and physician assistants -- have long been able to prescribe in most states, the list of professions seeking their own prescription pads is growing. Last fall, California became the latest state to allow naturopaths, who specialize in herbal remedies, to prescribe some regular pharmaceuticals. Naturopaths in Arizona and Hawaii can already write some prescriptions. In February, Washington state launched a pilot program that lets pharmacists prescribe birth-control pills and patches to women. Like a handful of other states, Washington already allows pharmacists to administer vaccinations and dispense prescription smoking-cessation products if they set up a special agreement with a doctor. This year, eight state legislatures dealt with bills that would let women get prescription emergency contraception, known as the morning-after pill, directly from a pharmacist -- without seeing a doctor. The future of many of the proposals hasn't been determined, but this year Maine became the sixth state to let pharmacists give the prescription drug to patients who haven't seen a doctor. In one of the longest-running battles over prescribing authority, Louisiana's governor signed a bill last month that will allow psychologists (whose training focuses on cognitive therapy, as opposed to medicine) to prescribe psychiatric drugs such antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, provided they get additional training in medicine and psychopharmacology. New Mexico passed similar legislation in 2002. In a handful of other states, lawmakers are considering bills that would expand prescriptive rights for groups including nurse anesthetists, and optometrists. Doctors' groups say the looser rules undermine the standards of the U.S. health-care system. "To have people with less training prescribing very complicated medicines creates a quality problem," says Jack Lewin, chief executive of the California Medical Association, which represents the state's doctors. Doctors are generally more receptive to wider prescribing authority, if providers work as part of a team led by doctors. Even some pharmacists are hesitant, citing the potential for errors and adverse drug interactions. "You can get into huge trouble when you've got the dentist, the optometrist, and the nurse practitioner all prescribing different drugs," says Ernest Boyd, executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association. In addition, earning the right to prescribe could mean that nonphysicians see their malpractice insurance rise. The potential savings are driving some health insurers to cover the fees charged by pharmacists and other nondoctors for meeting with patients before they prescribe. Since California began allowing pharmacists to dispense the prescription morning-after pill last year without a doctor's visit, several insurers have started reimbursing pharmacists for their consultations with patients. San Francisco Health Plan, which provides health insurance to low-income San Franciscans, pays pharmacists $20 each time they meet with a patient to get emergency contraception. The company says the rate is far lower than the $250 it would have to pay if the patient went to an emergency room for the same drug. Loosening rules surrounding prescriptive authority can also open up access to health care. Women's health advocates, for example, say allowing pharmacies to dispense the morning-after pill could help prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce abortions. The pill must be taken 72 hours after unprotected sex, and some women may have trouble getting a doctor's appointment that quickly. Pharmacies, however, are open on evenings and weekends and are far more accessible. Some drug makers, such as Barr Pharmaceuticals , the maker of an emergency contraceptive pill, are lobbying on behalf of new prescription rules. Companies that make psychiatric drugs such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, have largely stayed out of the battle over whether psychologists should be allowed to prescribe. One reason: Some companies worry they could face new liability risks if nondoctors begin prescribing their products.
The median sale price of a new home in 1978 was $55,700, about four times the $14,258 median income of a working family with kids, according to census data cited by the group. The median new home in 2001 cost $175,000 -- five times the median income of $35,000. The report said 68% of all US households were owned in 2001, up from 65.2% in 1978. However, the homeownership rate for families with children was 68.4% in 2001, down from 70.5% 23 years earlier. The rate for working families with children was 56.6%, down from 62.5%. 'Working families' means those in which members work the equivalent of a full-time job and earn between the full-time minimum wage of $10,712 a year and up to 120 percent of an area's median income.
Citibank refers to its temporary numbers as virtual account numbers; information is available at www.citibank.com/us/cards/tour/ cb/shp_van.htm. Discover, meanwhile, calls them single-use numbers and offers them on its Deskshop page (www2.discovercard.com /deskshop). MBNA customers can create the numbers through the company's online ShopSafe program (www.mbnashopsafe.com). Customers download software that generates such numbers upon request or upon detecting that a cardholder is at the checkout page of an online retailer. The companies have tried to make the numbers easier to use. A cardholder can now charge monthly phone bills and other recurring payments to the same disposable number, rather than entering a new one each time. John Gould, director of bank cards for the TowerGroup, a research company that was acquired recently by MasterCard, says it is impossible to ensure that all retailers encrypt their customers credit card numbers, according to rules set by the card networks. "This is too big a territory to patrol; in the U.S. alone, you've got over 400,000 merchants online," he said. "You've always got the issue of the merchant who is careless. "If the company stores your credit card number, that database just becomes a honey pot" for hackers says Chris Hoofnagle, a lawyer for the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The temporary numbers can also prevent retailers from renewing purchases like magazine subscriptions or gym memberships without issuing reminders. Many customers forget that vendors may automatically charge their customers' credit cards for such recurring fees. Similarly, a cardholder can register a number with a favorite merchant for continued use only with that merchant. American Express, one of the first to launch a single-use account number in 2000, phased out its Private Payments product earlier this year. "We didn't feel that, on an ongoing basis, it was necessary," says Judy Tenzer, an American Express spokeswoman. "There are already a number of safeguards for privacy and security out there." From AP via Baltimore Sun 5-09: By offering virtual account numbers, financial services companies are looking out for their bottom line. They're hoping that these tools will give more consumers the confidence to shop on the Web, potentially increasing credit-card revenue.
In a previous study, Watson Wyatt found that firms that clearly lay out workers' responsibilities and their connection to larger company goals - also called "line of sight" - perform better overall. "Companies with good line of sight show four times the total return to shareholders as companies with poor line of sight," said Scott Cohen, national practice leader of talent management at Watson Wyatt. Meanwhile, 54% of workers surveyed said their company sets high performance standards. Just 44% said employees are held accountable for their performance. Only 19% said their companies help poorly performing workers improve. That might be because many managers mince words in evaluations, Cohen said. "The problem is many managers avoid confrontations. They don't necessarily establish the right goals, so they fill out the forms and everybody gets 4s and 5s on a 5-point scale, so it's useless. "Human nature is people don't like to confront," Cohen said. " ... We have a tendency to sweep problems under the rug, (but) that's not what managers were hired to do." Employees give the evaluation process slightly higher marks when it comes to reviewing and rewarding past work, with 61% saying their performance was appraised accurately.
Hyundai's Kia brand continues to be a subpar performer in the initial-quality rankings. And in J. D. Power's most recent study of long-term reliability, which many in the industry consider to be a more important barometer, the Hyundai brand ranks near the bottom of the industry and Kia is dead last. The J.D. Power survey is based on responses from 51,000 buyers who purchased new cars and trucks in November and December. They were asked about problems in the first 90 days of ownership, and complaints ranged from squeaky dashboards to engine failures. Because J.D. Power's study rates all defects evenly, it tells more about production and showroom preparation quality than long-term durability. As a group, Japanese brands scored best in the latest survey, averaging 111 problems for each 100 vehicles. Korean brands were next, with 117; European brands had 122; and domestic brands 123. In 1998, the Korean brands were worst, with 272 problems for each 100 vehicles, and European brands best, with 156. Problems declined 11 percent industrywide in the new survey from a year earlier. Measured companywide, the Big Three all ranked slightly below the industry average, but there were big differences from brand to brand. The General Motors Hummer, though improved markedly from last year, was still the most problem-prone single nameplate, while the company's Cadillac brand was second only to Lexus from Toyota. Toyota's brands averaged 101 problems per 100 vehicles sold, while Hyundai and Honda each had an average of 102 problems per 100 vehicles. Honda's score includes its Acura brand. BMW, including its Mini brand, finished fourth with 116 problems per 100 vehicles. All other automakers finished below the industrywide corporate quality average of 119 problems, with Porsche of Germany dead last with a score of 159. In rankings of individual brands, Toyota's Lexus luxury vehicles topped the initial quality ratings, for the fourth year in a row, with 87 problems per 100 vehicles sold. Cadillac placed second at 93, followed by Ford's Jaguar at 98; Honda at 99; and GM's Buick and Ford's Mercury at 100 each. Hyundai finished seventh with 102 problems per 100 vehicles, while Toyota and Infiniti tied at eighth place with scores of 104. Mercedes-Benz, plagued in recent years by problems with complex electrical systems, rounded out the top 10 with 106 problems reported per 100 vehicles sold. Nissan Motor also came in below the Big Three in initial quality, partly because it introduced its first large pickup, the Titan, and its first large S.U.V., the Armada. Even Toyota was dented by a debut: its new youth-oriented Scion brand finished near the bottom of the pack at 34th of 37 brands rated, with 158 problems.
Information float: Have you ever wondered why your bank or credit-card issuer provides your statement of account activity for the period that includes the last three weeks of the month and the first week of the following month? Here's why: Banks and credit card companies have learned that when they delay their customers monthly statements for a week or so, their customers will be more likely to incur fees, thereby increasing the financial institutions fee income. When a bank CEO explained this concept to me, I was shocked. He even said the industry had a name for this common practice -- it's called "information float." Big financial companies know how to manipulate the timing of the delivery of customer account data to drive up their profits. Is it legal? Apparently it is. Information float occurs in other sinister ways. Say a cardholder has a balance that is close to the credit limit and she is in a rush to do some last minute holiday shopping. When the cardholder makes her next purchase, even though the transaction puts her over the limit, she is not informed and the transaction is approved. An over-the-limit fee is also charged and she is only aware of this if she notices it on her monthly statement. Compounding fees: Where fees become particularly lucrative for credit-card companies (and costly for you) is where a simple oversight, such as making a late payment, can trigger several different fees. In this situation, the late fee could also push your card balance over the credit limit, triggering an over-the-limit fee and a hike in the interest rate charged on your balance because your card payment is late and your balance exceeds the limit. Automatic credit downgrade: Through credit bureaus, your account information and payment activity for all of your credit accounts is now widely available and used by financial institutions. That means that your credit-card issuer can use your late payments on another credit card or loan against you. According to Consumer Financial Education, nearly 40% of credit-card companies say that that they hike interest rates charged to current cardholders who pay late on other accounts. Other traps set by card issuers include reducing the interest-free grace period from 31 days to an average of about 21 days. As a result, flat-footed customers end up incurring additional interest and late fees. Card issuers also attract customers with "no annual fee cards." But buried in the fine print of the card agreement is that a charge for a minimum monthly finance fee to all customers, even those who pay their balance in full. Minimum Finance Charge: Many cards are doing away with their annual fee -- less than 15 percent of cardholders now pay these. What many card companies are now doing is replacing the annual fee with a minimum monthly finance fee of $2 to $6, which is charged to your account regardless of whether you pay your balance in full. What this amounts to is charging cardholders a monthly fee, instead of an annual fee. Over the Limit Fee: Having a low credit limit on your card can backfire when your card charges fees for exceeding the approved credit limit. These fees are added to the cost of each purchase while the card is over the limit, and are typically about $35 for each transaction. What's sneaky here is that the credit-card company will approve the purchase and charge you the fee, even if you have no idea your card balance is over the limit. Late Fee: Making payments after the due date on most credit cards will cost an additional $15 to $39, depending on the overall balance owed. Many card issuers have shortened the payment due period to 20 to 25 days and payments are often required to be posted to the account no later than the morning of the last day due. Another trap is that payments not sent in the card issuer's preprinted envelope are posted five days after they are received. Balance Transfer Fee: Unless stated otherwise in a promotional offer, balance transfers are treated as a purchase, which means transfers begin racking up interest charges after the grace period. But the fees don't end there: some cards even charge an additional finance charge of 3 percent of the balance transferred. That's an additional $150 on a balance transfer of $5,000. Cash Advance Fee: If you need cash in a pinch, getting an advance from your credit will cost you. These fees are typically 3 percent of the cash advance, but not less than a set minimum of about $5. You are also charged interest on the advance and a surcharge imposed by the ATM owner. Card issuers also charge fees for bill payments by phone, requesting a stopped payment, returned payments and transactions in foreign currencies. Avoiding the traps The best advice on how to avoid most credit-card fees is simple: pay your balance early, in full and use online bill pay if you can. If you can't do this, then pay at least the minimum payment early, use the preprinted envelopes and never exceed your credit limit. Consumers also need to be proactive. For example, before you expect to make a lot of purchases on your card, check your credit balance and limit and request a limit increase if there is a chance it could be exceeded. In the end, it is you versus the card issuer and the equalizer is information. Read your account agreement, the disclosure statement and your monthly statement of account activity carefully, looking for any extra fees and charges. If you find fees you think are unfair, promptly call the card issuer, and ask for the fees to be refunded. What they know is that it is more expensive to replace your business than to refund a few bucks in fees.
Card issuers still make most of their money from interest income, but fees are clearly becoming more important to the industry's bottom line. Income from late fees and other penalties is likely to climb by $1 billion to roughly $13 billion this year. Overall, fees are likely to account for as much as 39% of credit-card income this year, up from 35% in 2003 and just 28% as recently as 2000. Low-interest rates aren't the only thing driving fees higher. The percentage of credit-card delinquencies rose to record levels in the fourth quarter, according to the American Bankers Association. Consolidation in the industry has also made credit-card companies more efficient and more aware of the costs of chasing after late payments. Now, they're not only recouping those costs, they're using them to create new profit centers. Among the many fee increases this year: [1] Wells Fargo will boost the fee paid by customers who exceed their credit limit to $35 from $32 next month. Last fall, it added a new 3% fee for customers who transfer balances from other cards, to a maximum $50. [2] Providian boosted its late fee in January, its second increase in two years. [3] In May, American Express will raise the over-the-limit fee paid by most of its credit-card customers to $35 and the bounced-check fee paid by most of its credit- and charge-card customers to $38. Both were previously $29. The move comes a year after Amex boosted the late fee for most customers with balances above $1,000 to $35 from $29. [4] Chase upped the late fee paid by customers with balances greater than $1,200 last year. In March, it began applying the higher rate to anyone who owes more than $250. It has also boosted the cost of paying your bill by phone at the last minute to $14.95 from $12. Meanwhile, grace periods -- the time between the monthly closing date and when the payment is due -- have shrunk steadily over the past decade, to an average 20.6 days last year from 27.8 days in 1993, according to Cardweb.com. More Info on Card Fees Eileen Ambrose, Baltimore Sun 7-04-04 Consumer Action, an advocacy group based in California, recently examined 140 cards issued by 45 banks. The group found that late fees averaged $27.45, a 60-cent increase in one year. Some late fees at major banks were as high as $39. Nearly 60 percent of banks surveyed also had a cut-off time for late payments. That means even if your payment arrives on the day it's due, you can be whacked with a late fee if it comes in an hour or so after the cut-off time. Most banks punish consumers by raising their interest rate if they are late once or twice with a payment or go over their credit limit, Consumer Action said. The average penalty rate was 22.9 percent, or 1.38 percentage points higher than a year ago. Some penalty rates, though, are a steep 29.99 percent. Even making on-time credit card payments doesn't always protect you against penalty rates. Forty-four percent of banks surveyed will raise your card's rate if you are tardy paying another creditor, Consumer Action found. The consequences can be severe. Take a card with a 14 percent interest rate and a $2,500 balance. By making the minimum payment each month, it would take 16 years and paying $1,980 in interest to erase the debt, Tehan said. But what happens if your card issuer penalizes you by doubling your rate to 28 percent? Now it would take 101 years to pay off the card through minimum payments and over that time you - and your heirs - would have paid $30,165 in interest. Tech Tips, Stats & Information
When asked to find facts such as the leading cause of death for 25- to 34-year olds, Google users found the correct answer 55% of the time, compared with 52% to 54% for its four rivals in the study. Asked to find details about a local business or service, users reported success 76% of the time with Google, compared with 64% to 75% for rivals. Asked to find the lowest price for a consumer product, 93% of Google users said they succeeded, compared with 84% to 89% for the rivals. The strength of Google's brand came through in the survey. Nearly 90% of Google users said they had a "strongly positive experience," compared with 68% for Yahoo, 50% for Ask Jeeves, 48% for Lycos and 41% for MSN. The positive feelings about Google held even when the searchers didn't find what they were looking for. Sixty-eight percent of the Google users said they were "satisfied" with the results of the factual search, compared with 59% for Yahoo, and 48% for Lycos. MSN ranked poorly in overall satisfaction, partly because survey respondents didn't like the speed and relevance of its results. About 25% of users asked to perform a general search task said MSN's results "were not ranked well," compared with 13% for Google. The Internet service provider that hosted the fraudulent Web site shut it down at the request of the Treasury Department's inspector general for taxes. The IRS warns that new versions could surface. Taxpayers who receive suspect e-mails should call the Treasury Department toll-free fraud hot line at 800-366-4484, or the IRS at 800-829-1040. (AP 5-01) Home Page Previous Factoid Too Top Sites
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