Tobacco Companies Knew Of Radiation In Cigarettes, Covered It Up
September 30, 2011
ABC News
By: Carrie Gann
Tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades, a new study of historical documents revealed.
Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, reviewed 27 previously unanalyzed documents and found that tobacco companies knew about the radioactive content of cigarettes as early as 1959. The companies studied the polonium throughout the 1960s, knew that it caused “cancerous growths” in the lungs of smokers, and even calculated how much radiation a regular smoker would ingest over 20 years. Then, they kept that data secret.
Hrayr Karagueuzian, the study’s lead author, said the companies’ level of deception surprised him.
“They not only knew of the presence of polonium, but also of its potential to cause cancer,” he said.
Karagueuzian and his team replicated the calculations that tobacco company scientists described in these documents and found that the levels of radiation in cigarettes would account for up to 138 deaths for every 1,000 smokers over a period of 25 years.
The study published online in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.
Cheryl Healton, is the CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, the organization created from the 1998 legal settlement against tobacco companies. She said the knowledge that cigarettes contain radiation is disturbing today, but would have been even more unsettling to Americans in the midst of the Cold War-mindset of the 1950s and 1960s.
“This was when we were crawling under our desks during school radiation drills and thinking about building bomb shelters in our backyards,” Healton said. “You probably could not imagine a more ideal time where you would have maximized the impact of that information. Unquestionably, this fact would have reduced smoking if it had been publicized.”
She added that most Americans are probably still unaware that cigarettes contain radiation.
Polonium-210 is a radioactive material that emits hazardous particles called alpha particles. There are low levels of it in the soil and the atmosphere, but the fertilizer used to grow tobacco plants contributes to the levels of polonium found in cigarettes.
Dr. John Spangler, a professor of family medicine at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, said when smokers inhale, the radioactive particles damage the tissue on the surface of the lungs, creating “hot spots” of damage. When combined with other cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco, Spangler said the damage from radiation is potent.
“The two together greatly increase your risk of lung cancer,” Spangler said. “So tobacco smoke is even more dangerous than you thought before.”
David Sutton, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA, the largest U.S. tobacco manufacturer, said the public health community has known about polonium in tobacco for decades.
“Polonium 210 is a naturally occurring element found in the air, soil, and water and therefore can be found in plants, including tobacco,” Sutton said.
All tobacco products on the market today still contain the polonium. In 1980, scientists discovered that a process called “acid washing” removes up to 99 percent of polonium-210 from tobacco. The documents reviewed by UCLA scientists reveal that tobacco companies knew of this technique, but declined to use it to remove the radioactive material from their products.
Click here for the full report from ABC News
Are U.S. Stocks Tracking Asian Markets?
September 30, 2011
USA Today
By: Matt Krantz
Q: Have U.S. markets been following Asian markets lately, or the other way around?
A: If you want evidence of the global economy, you can see it on a stock chart. U.S. and Asian markets are increasingly tied at the hip.
Your question is an excellent one. Giving a full and complete answer could be the topic for a doctoral dissertation, and perhaps it already is one. There’s been some work done in the area, if you’d like more details you can check out a study on interlinked global markets.
But for just a quick-and-dirty analysis, investors can put exchange-traded funds that track Asian and U.S. stocks on the same stock-price chart to see how the two interact with each other.
There are many ways to do this comparison, but I’m comparing the iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund (AIA) with the Standard & Poor’s 500 ETF. The iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund contains a broad mix of large Asian shares, primarily from South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
You can use USATODAY.com’s free stock charting tools to do the comparison. Type in AIA in the Get a Quote box at money.usatoday.com to get the snapshot of iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund. Select the Charts tab and below the graph in the Symbol Compare box enter SPY and Update Chart.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the two ETFs have moved very similarly within the past year. This is consistent with academic research indicating that markets of different countries are increasingly moving in lockstep with each other.
However, there are two important other things to note from the chart. First, notice how the Asian stock ETF was first to top out and start to decline in February 2011, and how U.S. stocks followed that decline.
The Asian stock ETF, meanwhile, is more volatile than the U.S. ETF. The ups and downs are more extreme and violent.
So it would appear Asian stocks and U.S. stocks, at least recently and using these two indexes, are somewhat closely related. But the Asian stocks tended to be the first to crack earlier this year and continue to deserve their reputation as being more volatile.
Click here for the full report from USA Today
How Far Can Herman Cain Go?
September 30, 2011 by Danny
Filed under Government
September 30, 2011
CBS News
By: Brian Montopoli
Does Herman Cain actually have a chance to win the Republican nomination?
There’s no question that Cain, who was essentially unknown when he entered the presidential race, remains a serious long shot. But it’s starting to look slightly more plausible that the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO could actually become the Republican presidential nominee.
Cain earned a round of positive media coverage for his strong upset victory in the Florida straw poll last weekend, and he’s getting traction with his 9-9-9 tax plan – a proposal to replace the current tax code with a nine percent flat income tax, a nine percent corporate tax and a nine percent national sales tax. When a moderator asked Cain about the plan at last week’s Republican debate, the audience broke into applause even before he finished asking the question.
Now a Fox News poll shows Cain with 17 percent support – putting him just two points behind Rick Perry and six points behind Mitt Romney. It’s just one poll, of course. But if it’s accurate, it represents a near tripling in support for Cain from the previous Fox poll. And even if the poll is an outlier, it helps Cain with fundraising and means another round of glowing media coverage. (An endorsement from Fox News commentator Dennis Miller, meanwhile, can’t hurt. )
Cain burst out of the gate with his performance in the first Republican presidential debate, which was strong enough that a Fox News focus group deemed Cain the clear winner. But he soon ran into trouble over controversial comments (perhaps most prominently, his statement that he wouldn’t tap a Muslim to serve in his cabinet) and an unwillingness to offer specifics on foreign policy.
Cain spent the summer in the back of the GOP pack, polling well enough to earn a spot on debate stages but badly enough that the media treated him as a second- or third-tier candidate. His rivals, meanwhile, clearly did not see Cain as a threat and thus declined to take shots at him.
That will change if more polls show a surge in support for Cain. And that’s not inconceivable: Gallup has found Cain has the highest positive intensity score of all the GOP candidates among those who know who he is. (Positive intensity is a measure of strongly favorable opinion vs. strongly unfavorable opinion.) Cain is known only by about half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents; if his positive intensity score holds up as he becomes more well known, he could give Romney and Perry a run for their money.
But money, as it were, is a problem: While Romney and Perry have a ton of it, Cain lacks the fundraising network of his better-known rivals. And that’s not the only issue. Cain is competing with Perry, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum for social conservatives, and that means he needs to do respectably in Iowa, where they make up a major chunk of the GOP electorate. But Cain has little organization in the state – as evidenced by his fifth place finish in the Iowa straw poll – and some his staff in the state quit because they didn’t think the campaign was putting in a serious effort.
A Cain campaign official acknowledged to CBS News that the candidate is unlikely to win Iowa. But the campaign hopes to survive the state – a third-place finish would be enough, though Cain has claimed he’d be “ecstatic” with fifth-place – and then hold on until South Carolina.
It’s a state Cain’s campaign believes the candidate can win — and thus eventually get to the White House. Cain hails from nearby Georgia, where he hosted a radio show that could be heard across the border; the state is also 28 percent African-American and highly religious, which makes it demographically appealing for Cain, a Baptist minister. And the open primary means Democrats and independents who support Cain can cast ballots.
Still, there’s a lot of distance between where Cain stands today and a victory in South Carolina, where he currently polls in the single digits. And Cain will likely not have the resources to match Perry or Romney’s get-out-the-vote effort in the state. But there’s no denying that Cain’s candidacy suddenly seems a bit more viable – and no doubt that his rivals are starting to pay attention.
Click here for the full report from CBS News
Anwar al-Aulaqi, U.S.-Born Cleric Linked To Al-Qaeda, Reported Killed In Yemen
September 30, 2011 by Danny
Filed under Government
September 30, 2011
The Washington Post
By: Sudarsan Raghavan
Anwar al-Aulaqi, a radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric and one of the most influential al-Qaeda operatives wanted by the United States, was killed Friday in an airstrike in northern Yemen, authorities said, eliminating a prominent recruiter who inspired attacks on U.S. soil.
In Washington, a senior Obama administration official confirmed that Aulaqi is dead.
A U.S. counterterrorism official said intelligence indicates that the 40-year-old cleric, a dual national of the United States and Yemen, perished in an attack on his convoy by a U.S. drone and jet, the Associated Press reported.
The news agency later reported that a second U.S. citizen, who edited an al-Qaeda magazine, was killed with Aulaqi in the airstrike.
The Yemeni Defense Ministry, in a text message sent to journalists, announced that “the terrorist Anwar al- Aulaqi has been killed along with some of his companions,” but did not provide further details. Aulaqi has been falsely reported killed before. He has been the target of previous U.S. strikes and was quoted as laughing off an attempt to kill him in May.
In a separate e-mailed statement, the Yemeni government said Aulaqi was “targeted and killed” five miles from the town of Khashef in Yemen’s northern Jawf province, 87 miles east of the capital Sanaa. The attack, the statement said, was launched at 9:55 a.m. Friday local time.
While the Defense Ministry said Aulaqi was killed in Marib province, other government sources said he was killed in neighboring Jawf province.
A Yemeni security source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Aulaqi was killed in an airstrike, possibly by an unmanned American drone. The Obama administration in recent months has escalated the use of drones to target al-Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen and Somalia.
If true, Aulaqi’s death would be considered a significant victory in the U.S. war against global terrorism. It comes less than five months after U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda network, in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Aulaqi, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, has been implicated in helping to motivate several attacks on U.S. soil. He is said to have inspired an Army officer who allegedly killed 13 people in a November 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex., as well as a Nigerian student accused of attempting to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner the following month and a Pakistani American man who tried to set off a car bomb in New York City in May 2010. Aulaqi has also been linked to an attempt in 2010 to send parcel bombs on cargo plans bound for the United States.
In April 2010, the Obama administration authorized his targeted killing. U.S. officials alleged that he is a top leader in al-Qaeda’s Yemeni wing, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Aulaqi, who lived in Virginia and was the imam of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, left the United States in 2002. He was detained in Yemen in 2006 at the request of the United States but was released later that year. His lectures in English on Islamic scripture have drawn in countless followers online.
In April 2010, the Obama administration authorized his targeted killing. U.S. officials alleged that he was a top leader in al-Qaeda’s Yemeni wing, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Aulaqi, who lived in Virginia and was the imam of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, left the United States in 2002. He was detained in Yemen in 2006 at the request of the United States but was released later that year. His lectures in English on Islamic scripture have drawn in countless followers online.
Click here for the full report from The Washington Post
Fewer People Applied For Unemployment Benefits
September 30, 2011
Fox News
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, an encouraging sign that layoffs are easing.
The Labor Department says that weekly applications dropped 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the lowest level since April 2. It’s the first time applications have fallen below 400,000 since Aug. 6.
Applications typically need to fall below 375,000 to signal substantial job growth. They haven’t been that low since February.
A Labor Department spokesman said some of the drop was due to technical difficulties related to seasonally adjusting the figures. The spokesman said some states also reported higher applications in previous weeks due to Hurricane Irene.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 417,000, the first drop in six weeks.
Despite the signs of improvement, the job market remains sluggish.
Many businesses have pulled back on hiring in the past few months as the economy has weakened. Consumers are reluctant to spend, with unemployment high, wages stagnant, and gas prices at about $3.50 a gallon.
Consumer confidence plunged in August to recessionary levels, after lawmakers battled over raising the government’s borrowing limit and Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on long-term U.S. debt. That sent the stock market sharply lower, which hurts consumers’ ability to spend.
Retail sales were flat in August, a sign the turmoil caused consumers to pull back.
Businesses also held off on hiring. Employers added no net jobs in August, the worst showing in almost a year. The unemployment rate was stuck at 9.1 percent for the second straight month.
Investors also worried last week that Europe won’t be able to prevent Greece from defaulting and worsening the region’s debt crisis. That sent the U.S. stock market down 6.4 percent, its biggest weekly loss since October 2008, in the midst of the financial crisis.
If Greece defaults, that could destabilize other indebted countries, such as Portugal, Ireland and Italy. It could also harm many of Europe’s banks, which own Greek debt.
If European banks hoard cash to make up for their losses and stop lending to their U.S. counterparts, that could restrict credit in the United States and slow the economy. And a financial crisis in Europe would reduce U.S. companies’ exports and sales to the region.
The slow growth and turmoil have raised fears that the U.S. economy could enter another recession. Some economists put the odds as high as 40 percent.
The economy barely grew in the first six months of this year. Still, economists expect growth will improve a bit in the second half, to 1.5 percent to 2 percent. But that’s not enough to spur much hiring and won’t feel much better than a recession to most Americans.
The latest sign of a weak job market came Wednesday, when the Conference Board said its index of online help-wanted ads fell by 1.1 percent to 3.95 million. Openings have fallen by about 500,000 in the past six months, the group said, after jumping by more than 750,000 in the first three months of the year.
Instead of hiring, companies are spending on new equipment. A key measure of business investment plans rose 1.1 percent in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Companies ordered more machinery, computers and communications equipment.
That’s a good sign, because it shows that businesses are sticking with their investment plans, despite recent signs of economic weakness.
Last week, the Federal Reserve took its latest step to boost the economy. It said it will swap $400 billion of short-term Treasury securities into longer-term notes and bonds. The central bank said it will also reinvest the proceeds from its maturing mortgage-backed securities into new mortgage-backed bonds. Both steps should reduce mortgage rates.
Click here for the full report from Fox News
The Anatomy Of Anger
September 30,2011
The Huffington Post
By: Dennis Merritt Jones
“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”
–Ambrose Bierce
Over the years I have become an avid student of energy and how it moves. What I believe is that as human beings, not only do we consist of pure energy, we are also conduits through which it flows. Once we understand that thought is energy in one of its purest forms, we’ll become aware that the thoughts we think make us energy directors. Thus, when we have misguided thoughts fueled by the energy of anger, our words can be very destructive.
When I was a kid, I had a hair-trigger temper. By the time I was a teen, it didn’t take much to set me off and ignite my anger. Years later, I discovered that I had real issues abound my physical stature. Being the skinniest, shortest kid in the schoolyard made me a moving target for the local bullies and just about any of my peers. As an adult, I began to understand where my anger was coming from; my own sense of inferiority and defensiveness.
On more than one occasion, thoughts of anger fueled by enraged emotions sent misguided words soaring out of my mouth, which I later regretted. As I matured, I discovered that once words are spoken in a moment of misguided passion (rage), they cannot be called back. It’s sort of like launching a guided missile and then realizing there is no “abort & destroy” button once the missile has been launched. Sometimes our words spoken in anger can be like misguided missiles if we are not mindful.
As I began to study the universal law of cause and effect, and how the energy of anger moves from cause (thought plus feeling) resulting in effect (words or actions), I came to understand that I play an undeniable role in being the creator of my own experience. This does not mean that I always have control over what others say or do at any given moment, but it does mean I always have absolute control over how I choose to respond to what has been said or done.
No doubt, people can say and do some incredibly cruel and thoughtless things that can understandably trigger our anger. However, at the end of the day, without exception, justified or not, it is we who suffer the toxic effects of being the conduit or vessel through which that energy of anger flows. Buddha wrote, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” In other words, the misguided missiles of anger we fire at others always come home to roost.
It has been said that behind all anger is fear. Consider the idea that anger is an outward manifestation of an inner fear of loss of control over something or someone, including one’s behavior and words. In “A Course In Miracles,” it states, “Anger is a cry for love.”
When I flashback to my own childhood experiences around anger, I can see that my anger really was a cry for love and acceptance based on a belief that somehow I wasn’t good enough (or lovable) just as I was. Love seems to be the universal antidote for the toxin of anger. Buddha also wrote, “Let a man overcome anger by love.” Let us know this applies to little boys and girls as well as adults.
As a mindfulness practice today, consider becoming the observer of your thoughts and feelings, remembering that the presence of the divine exists at the center of each of us as unconditioned love. It is there and it is accessible — we need only remember to call on it.
So perhaps the next time we come across the energy of anger within ourselves or another, we might first consider pausing, taking a deep intentional breath, and before we react with misguided missiles hurling out of our mouth, silently ask ourselves, “What (or who) needs to be loved here?” We might just save ourselves from making the best speech we’ll ever regret.
Click here for the full report from The Huffington Post
Are You Psychologically Ready To Be Old?
September 30, 2011
The Huffington Post
By: Michael Friedman
Aging brings a number of virtually inevitable psychological challenges. Meeting them is often not easy. Preparing ahead of time can help.
The ultimate goal of old age, developmental psychologists tell us, is to achieve “integrity” and to avoid “despair.” What they mean, roughly speaking, is that, as you near the end of your life, you should be able to look back and feel that the life you lived is truly yours, that it was not a life forced on you, not a life that left behind your greatest potentials, and not a life you now regret. If you look back with an overwhelming sense of betrayed potential, you will not have achieved “integrity,” and you are not likely to be happy.
Achieving integrity also means that you can look back with pride. It does not have to be pride in a great achievement at work or in your community; it can be pride in having earned a living, in having raised a family, in having good friends, in having cared for those you loved, or simply in having led the life you wanted to lead.
Of course, satisfaction with your life when you are old is not only about looking back with pride. It is also about living well now. The essence of this is remaining active and connected with other people.
For many people, having a sense of meaning is also critical. This can come from contributing to your community or to your family. It can come from being creative or from passing on your skills and wisdom. It can come from spiritual experience.
As important as a sense of meaning can be, it appears not to matter to some people who just want to enjoy life. If meaning is the antidote to despair for many, pleasure is the antidote for many others.
Ageist assumptions may make it hard to believe, but there are plenty of opportunities for old people to live well. There is meaningful work — volunteer and paid, opportunities to be creative or to enjoy the creativity of others, relationships to be continued and deepened with time, new relationships that can be developed, and spiritual experiences available either through an array of religions or privately. And of course there are lots of opportunities to have a good time whether on the golf course or in the senior center, at discounted movies or extended education classes, at parties or in social and sexual relationships.
Old age does not have to be a cold and barren time spent mostly waiting for death. It can be a time of pleasure, a time of giving back, or a time of ultimate fulfillment.
Can be, but not necessarily will be.
Physical, mental, and substance use disorders (especially alcohol abuse) can be major barriers to aging well.
And the developmental challenges of old age are difficult to meet. These include retirement, role changes in family and community life, coping with diminished (but not necessarily lost) physical and mental capabilities, learning to live with chronic health conditions and sometimes pain, surviving the loss of more and more family and friends over time, and coming to terms with your own mortality.
In addition, the risk of becoming physically or mentally disabled and dependent on others becomes greater and greater.
Those who are young — or old — and physically and mentally healthy, able, and independent generally look on the possibility of becoming disabled in old age with considerable dread.
That is understandable. From early on most of us have tried to achieve lives of independence. We take pride in taking care of ourselves and those who rely on us. The vision of our own decline into disability and dependency and especially into dementia is usually deeply troubling.
Whether that is the only way to view severe disability in old age is open to considerable debate. Some of us believe that there can be a decent quality of life for old — and young — people with severe disabilities. Others regard it with unmitigated horror.
By taking good care of yourself you can reduce the likelihood of disability in old age, but there is no guaranteed way to avoid it. So, just as you need to face the inevitability of death, you also need to consider the possibility of spending your final years in a physical or mental state that you now think will be intolerable but which may offer enough satisfactions to make life worth living when you get there.
It is not easy to prepare for all this. No doubt the feeling of old age when you experience it will be different in some important way from what you imagined. But much is known about aging, and it is possible to be more or less prepared. Have you begun?
Click here for the full report from The Huffington Post
Drinking Water With Meals Can Impair Digestion
September 30th, 2011
Natural News
Most of us have heard it a hundred times: drink eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and hydrated. And while hydration is genuinely important for our health, if you’re guzzling all that water with your meals it can actually have a negative impact on your digestion.
It’s true that the entire digestive system works more efficiently when it’s well-hydrated, but this doesn’t mean it should be flooded with cold water right when it’s working to digest your last meal. Too much water during meals can interfere with natural levels of acid and bile needed in the stomach to properly digest your food. In particular, too much cold water during meals can slow digestion and may cause cramping in sensitive individuals.
Tips for Drinking Water with Meals
The general rule of thumb is to avoid drinking water from about 15 minutes before you eat until at least one hour after you eat. But it’s all too common for people to go to extremes with this advice. Avoiding any and all liquids before, during and after meals is rarely needed to see improvements in digestion. Instead, apply these simple tips for drinking at mealtime:
1. Think small sips. You don’t have to forego water during meals altogether. Instead, simply opt to take small sips of water during your meal. This is great for cleansing the palate and maintaining hydration without flooding your digestive system with massive amounts of water just when it’s getting down to business. You can also add a squeeze of lemon or a bit of apple cider vinegar to your water to help aid the digestive process.
2. Choose warm over cold. Iced drinks may be particularly problematic during meals, especially for those with existing digestive issues. If you’d like to have something to sip on during meals, warm liquids are more friendly for digestion. Warm tea or homemade broth are excellent to accompany your meal, and can actually aid digestion rather than impair it.
3. Hydrate before you eat. If you frequently find yourself thirsty during and after your meals, it may help to make a habit of drinking a glass or two of pure water about 15 to 30 minutes before you eat. This can prevent the urge to drink too much water while your stomach is working to digest your meal.
4. Stay hydrated during the rest of the day. Drinking during meals can be a difficult habit to break. However, it’s easier to do if you keep yourself hydrated the rest of the time. Begin your day by drinking a glass or two of pure water and then make a habit of repeating this between meals. Soon you’ll be well-hydrated and won’t crave large amounts of water during your meals.
5. Think moderation. There is no reason to become dogmatic about drinking during meals. Some people find it makes an enormous difference to avoid drinking a lot of liquid during a meal, while others find it has little effect. Others note that simply avoiding ice water or not drinking quite so much water during meals is enough to ease their digestive woes. It will depend on the individual how much of an impact this has on his/her digestion, but it’s worth considering if you have problems with gas, bloating or pain after meals.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Best Friends Can Help You Beat Stress
September 30th, 2011
The Huffington Post
By: Amanda Chan
Stressed out? Go hang with your BFF.
A small new study shows that during stressful times, being around a best friend decreases levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
“These findings provide a better understanding as to how close relationships might serve as buffers against the adjustment difficulties that result from negative experiences,” researchers wrote in the study.
For the study, Adams and his colleagues had about 100 kids ages 10 to 12 write in a journal five times a day over the course of four school days. They were supposed to indicate what sorts of feelings they had in the last 20 minutes, as well as if they spent time alone with a parent, brother or sister, classmate, best friend, stranger, teacher, boyfriend or girlfriend or another person.
Researchers also tested levels of the stress hormone cortisol using spit samples they gathered from the kids.
They found that during an unpleasant experience, the kids who were with their best friend didn’t produce as much cortisol as kids who weren’t around a friend during the stressful time.
“A child’s close friends can be problematic and lead them astray, but they can also be incredibly positive and supportive,” Dr. Karen Majors, education psychologist with Barking and Dagenham Community Educational Psychology Service, told Marie Claire UK.
Even though this study was just in kids, other research suggests having a friendly workplace could boost your health, too. A study published in Health Psychology earlier this summer showed that people who don’t have a good social support system at work are almost 2.5 times more likely to die over a 20-year-period than people who say they have a friendly workplace.
Click here for the full report from The Huffington Post
Bank of America Adding $5 Debit Card Fee
September 30th, 2011
DailyFinance
By: The Associated Press
Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.
Paying to use a debit card was unheard of before this year and is still a novel concept for many consumers. But several banks have recently introduced or started testing debit card fees. That’s in addition to the spate of other unwelcome changes checking account customers have seen in the past year. Bank of America will begin charging the fee early next year.
Bank of America’s announcement carries added weight because it is the largest U.S. bank by deposits.
The fee will apply to basic accounts, which are marketed toward those with modest balances, and will be in addition to any existing monthly service fees. For example, one such account charges a $12 monthly fee unless customers meet certain conditions, such as maintaining a minimum average balance of $1,500.
Customers will only be charged the fee if they use their debit cards for purchases in any given month, said Anne Pace, a Bank of America spokeswoman. Those who only use their cards at ATMs won’t have to pay.
The debit card fee is just the latest twist in the rapidly evolving market for checking accounts.
A study by Bankrate.com this week found that just 45 percent of checking accounts are now free with no strings attached, down from 65 percent last year and 76 percent in 2009. Customers can still get free checking in most cases, but only if they meet certain conditions, such as setting up direct deposit.
The study also found that the total average cost for using an ATM rose to $3.81, from $3.74, the year before. The average overdraft fee inched up to $30.83, from $30.47.
The changes come ahead of a regulation that goes into effect next month.
Starting Oct. 1, the regulation will cap the fees that banks can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards. Those fees generated $19 billion in revenue for banks in 2009, according to the Nilson Report, which tracks the payments industry.
There is no similar cap on the merchant fees that banks can collect when customers use their credit cards, however. That means many banks are increasingly encouraging customers to reach for their credit cards, in hopes of reversing a trend toward debit card usage in the past several years.
An increasing reliance on credit cards would be particularly beneficial for big institutions like Bank of America, which have large credit card portfolios, notes Bart Narter, a banking analyst with Celent, a consulting firm.
“It’s become a more profitable business, at least in relation to debit cards,” Narter said.
This summer, an Associated Press-GfK poll found that two-thirds of consumers use debit cards more frequently than credit cards. But when asked how they would react if they were charged a $3 monthly debit card fee, 61 percent said they’d find another way to pay.
With a $5 fee, 66 percent said they would change their payment method.
Several banks are nevertheless moving ahead with debit card fees.
SunTrust, a regional bank based in Atlanta, began charging a $5 debit card fee on its basic checking accounts this summer. Regions Financial, which is based in Birmingham, Ala., plans to start charging a $4 fee next month.
Chase and Wells Fargo are also testing $3 monthly debit card fees in select markets. Neither bank has said when it will make a final decision on whether to roll out the fee more broadly.
The growing prevalence of the debit card fee is alarming for Josh Wood, a 32-year-old financial adviser in Amarillo, Texas.
Wood relies entirely on debit cards to avoid interest charges on a credit card. If his bank, Wells Fargo, began charging a debit card fee, he said he would take his business to a credit union.
If a debit fee became so prevalent that it was unavoidable, Wood said he’s not sure how he’d react.
“I might use all cash. Or go back to writing checks,” he said.
Bank of America’s debit card fee will be rolled out in stages starting with select states in early 2012. The company would not say which states would be affected first.
Click here for the full report from DailyFinance
