Obama meets with credit card executives, promises reform

President Barack Obama called his Thursday meeting with top executives from the nation's largest credit card companies "constructive," and then he said he would do what he could to change the way those companies do business.

"We had a discussion with some of the top issuers here, and what I communicated to them is that I think credit cards are an important convenience for a lot of people ... so we want to preserve the credit card market," Obama said. "But we also want to do so in a way that eliminates some of the abuses and some of the problems that a lot of people are familiar with--people finding themselves starting off with a low rate and the next thing they know their interest rates have doubled; fees that they didn't know about that are suddenly tacked on to their bills; a whole lack of clarity and transparency in terms of the terms and conditions of their credit cards."

The White House will work with leaders in Congress who have already introduced credit card reform legislation, the president said. On Wednesday a House committee approved a bill that would limit credit card rates and fees. A Senate committee approved similar legislation a few weeks before.

Obama set out four points which his administration would work to change:

1. "I think that there has to be strong and reliable protections for consumers -- protections that ban unfair rate increases and forbid abusive fees and penalties.  The days of any time, any reason rate hikes and late fee traps have to end."
2. "All the forms and statements that credit card companies send out have to be written in plain language and be in plain sight.  No more fine print, no more confusing terms and conditions.  We want clarity and transparency from here on out."
3. "We have to make sure that people can comparison shop when it comes to credit cards without being afraid that they're going to be taken advantage of.  So we believe that it's important to require firms to make all their contract terms easily accessible online in a fashion that allows people to shop for the best deal for their needs."
4. "We think we need more accountability in the system.  And that means more effective oversight and more effective enforcement so that people who are issuing credit cards but violate law, they will feel the full weight of the law."

Learn more from Consumer Reports about credit card rates that jump overnight.

And, learn the dark secrets of debit cards.

EPA wants greenhouse gases called a threat to public health, welfare

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposal finding that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution and are a threat to public health and welfare.

The proposal could have wide-ranging impacts on industries which rely on fossil fuels, like power plants and cars.

“This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The EPA describes the connection between greenhouse gases and global climate change like this:

For over the past 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and deforestation have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping to space, somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.

Greenhouse gases are necessary to life as we know it, because they keep the planet's surface warmer than it otherwise would be. But, as the concentrations of these gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, the Earth's temperature is climbing above past levels.

The White House has already made its foray into environmental politics. In his budget, President Barack Obama proposed a cap and trade system to regulate greenhouse emissions.

"Fortunately, it follows President Obama’s call for a low carbon economy and strong leadership in Congress on clean energy and climate legislation,” Jackson said. “This pollution problem has a solution – one that will create millions of green jobs and end our country’s dependence on foreign oil.”

The EPA's proposed finding also says that global warming has national security implications.

"Escalating violence in destabilized regions can be incited and fomented by an increasing scarcity of resources – including water," the EPA announcement stated. "This lack of resources, driven by climate change patterns, then drives massive migration to more stabilized regions of the world."

The next phase for the EPA's finding is public comment. If you would like to voice your opinion, here's how.

As our Home & Garden Blog reports today, soot, or black carbon (the airborne residue from incompletely burned fossil or biomass fuels), is also being seen as a serious cause of airborne pollution and climate change. Read about worldwide efforts to fight this kind of pollution.

For more on energy efficiency tips, visit the Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog.

Consumer gouging cases settled

Tennessee settles gas station pricing complaints
The attorney general’s investigation began last fall after consumers complained that some gas stations unfairly raised gas prices after hurricanes shuttered Gulf Coast oil refineries and left several Southern states without enough gas.
Knoxville News Sentinel

South Dakota warns of fake lottery
A new e-mail come-on gives the appearance of having been sent by the South Dakota State Lottery. Consumers are told that they are the lucky recipient of a $500,000 cash drawing from the "South Dakota Web Lottery." But the e-mail doesn't come from the lottery and there is no web lottery.
Marshall County Journal

Illinois protection on gas utility service
Gov. Patrick Quinn has signed a law that regulates alternative natural gas suppliers' marketing to protect consumers from misleading advertising and excessive termination fees.
Crain's Chicago Business

Texans battle over homeowners' insurance
Saying Texas homeowners pay the highest insurance premiums in the nation, State Senate Democrats blocked action on a major insurance bill. They are seeking changes, including one that would require insurers to get prior approval from the state insurance commissioner before increasing rates. Currently, companies can raise rates simply by notifying the insurance department.
Dallas Morning News

You can get advice on how to buy homeowner's insurance from the CR Money Blog.

FTC: Comcast, DIRECTV to pay for "Do Not Call" violations

Cable and Internet provider Comcast and DIRECTV, the satellite TV company, have agreed to pay fines to settle charges that both companies called consumers who had asked not to be called again, the Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday.

DIRECTV will pay $2.31 million, and Comcast will pay $900,000, the FTC said.

“In both of these cases, DIRECTV and Comcast violated consumers’ privacy by calling people who specifically had asked these companies not to call them again,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

Comcast responded with a statement from Sena Fitzmaurice, executive director of corporate communications:

Comcast fully supports all Do-Not-Call regulations and we are committed to preventing unwanted telemarketing calls.  The FTC found our compliance with the national Registry to be 99.85% and chose not to pursue any claim against Comcast in that area.  This settlement is limited to alleged calls made to persons identified on our internal do-not-call list, where our compliance percentage was at 99.74%.  Both compliance percentages are greater than those reported by the FTC to Congress last year as evidencing ‘highly effective’ performance.    Since the period under review, we have further strengthened our policies and procedures to prevent unwanted telemarketing calls.

New unemplyment claims fall by 53,000

The number of new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 53,000 for the week ending April 11, the Labor Department reported Thursday, with 610,000 people seeking benefits.

Over 6 million people were on the unemployment rolls for the prior week, an weekly increase of 172,000, the government's estimates show.

According to the Labor Department, the highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 28 were in Michigan (8.0 percent), Oregon (7.9), Rhode Island (7.1), Idaho (7.0), Wisconsin (7.0), Pennsylvania (6.7), Nevada (6.2), Alaska (6.0), Montana (6.0), and Vermont (5.9).

Consumers cope with disaster recovery

Tennessee tornado victims warned about repair ploys
Consumers who need repair work done quickly following a natural disaster are often targets of faulty construction work or price gouging, according to Tennessee consumer protection officials and the attorney general’s office. They urged victims of last week’s storms, which killed a mother and her baby and injured dozens, to check licenses and backgrounds of contractors before they commit to a project.
(Murfreesboro Post)

Alabama hit with flood damage
More than 100 roads were closed in Geneva County in Alabama as of the weekend. Hundreds of homes have been damaged by flood waters. And state officials warned businesses and homeowners to watch out for potential gougers.
(Dothan Eagle)

How to prepare for emergencies
You can get ready before a disaster strike: visit Consumer Report’s emergency guide
for advice advice about securing your home and protecting your family.

Consumer prices show first annual drop since 1955

The Consumer Price Index, the government's measure of food, energy, and other costs, fell unexpectedly in March.

After seasonal adjustments, the rate fell 0.1 percent in March, according to the government's data.

The index has decreased 0.4 percent over the last year, the first 12 month decline since August 1955, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The Labor Department said the decrease was due to falling energy prices, which were 3 percent lower in March than in February.

Food also cost less in March. With a decrease of 0.1 percent, the food index is at virtually the same level as October 2008, the numbers show.

Obama describes the rock and reasoning supporting his economic policies

In a Tuesday speech, President Barack Obama harkened back to Biblical times for a comparable situation to the economic crisis in which the country (and his administration) are mired.

Now, there's a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when a storm hit.  But the second is known as the wise man, for when 'the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.'

It was founded upon a rock.  We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock.  We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity--a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.

The rock the president wants under the U.S. economy is actually made up of five "pillars," he said.

As he described them in his speech at Georgetown University:

1. "New rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation, not reckless risk-taking"
2. "New investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive"
3. "New investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and new industries"
4. "New investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses"
5. "New savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations"

Despite the government's efforts, Obama said that the country will not recover quickly from this recession.

"There is no doubt that times are still tough," he said. "By no means are we out of the woods just yet.  But from where we stand, for the very first time, we're beginning to see glimmers of hope.  And beyond that, way off in the distance, we can see a vision of an America's future that is far different than our troubled economic past."

Consumers fighting back over debt

As the economy puts more people in financial trouble, debt collection tactics are getting a tougher look.  Here’s what’s happening around the country:

Debt collectors sued in Houston
Consumers are increasingly fighting back by suing those who use illegal tactics. In Houston, U.S. District Court statistics show lawsuits filed against debt collectors under a federal consumer protection law are up 60 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to last year. (Houston Chronicle)

Consumers get help in Oregon
A blog from Oregon notes that a new state consumer law allows the state’s Attorney General to investigate debt collectors' methods and sue over use abusive practices. (The Oregonian)

Feds getting into the act
Michelle Singletary has a column on the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to change how companies collect past-due obligations. (Washington Post)

How to avoid financial traps
In March 2009, Consumer Reports provided advice about how you could sidestep some of the problems  posed by debt consolidation offers.

Study finds many consumers ignore food recalls

Only 60 percent of Americans have checked their cabinets for possibly contaminated food after a recall, a new study on consumer behavior found.

More than 25 percent have thrown away food after hearing about a recall, according to the Consumer Responses to Food Recalls study from Rutgers University, but only 10 percent have actually found a recalled food product.

The telephone survey found that more than one-in-ten Americans had eaten a food they thought had been recalled.

“Despite widespread awareness of recent foodborne illness outbreaks, and a sense that the number of food recalls is increasing, about half of Americans say that food recalls have had no impact on their lives,” William Hallman, a professor of human ecology at Rutgers University, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, said. “Getting consumers to pay attention to news about recalls isn't the hard part but getting them to take the step of actually looking for recalled food products in their homes is a real challenge.”

Why aren't consumers being more careful with possibly contaminated foods?

Eighty-four percent said they pay close attention to news about food recalls, the study found, but a full 50 percent said that food recalls have had no impact on their lives.

Rutgers found that 38 percent of those polled thought that the food products they purchased were less likely to be recalled than those purchased by others.

The study was based on a survey of 1,101 Americans interviewed by telephone from Aug. 4 to Sept. 24, 2008. Since that time, there have been major recalls of both peanuts and pistachios because of salmonella contamination.