Getty ImagesA Pacific coast beach retirement costs much less in Mexico.By Kathleen Peddicord
Mexico was perhaps the original retire overseas destination for Americans, who have been relocating south of the border in retirement for decades. More than a million American expats and retirees call Mexico home.
In recent years, Mexico has been overshadowed by countries in Central and South America. These other destinations also offer appealing options for a sunny, coastal retirement on a small budget. Mexico has recently suffered some bad press, including the swine flu epidemic of 2009 that fizzled after a few cases and the drug violence in some border cities and beyond that has affected the perception of the entire country.
It's true that some parts of Mexico don't belong on any retire overseas shopping list. However, it's time to take a fresh look at this old favorite. Housing markets in many areas of Mexico are depressed. The great recession took its toll in this country, especially in areas popular as second home markets, many of which still haven't recovered. Mexico isn't the uber-cheap destination it was in the 1950s and 1960s, but it's still a very affordable lifestyle option, especially at the current rate of exchange between the Mexican peso and the U.S. dollar. Today's dollar buys 15.38 pesos, making the cost of living in Mexico cheaper than it's been in a long time for anyone with dollars in his wallet.
Mexico is also a big country, offering many diverse retirement lifestyle choices. One particularly appealing coastal retirement option is Mazatlan. This city opened its first tourist hotel and restaurant in 1850 and has been a major international tourist destination since the 1940s. But in the 1970s, Mazatlan began to fall out of favor, as more travelers to Mexico's Pacific coast opted for its cousin city, Puerto Vallarta, some 270 miles to the south.
Mazatlan has undergone a mostly unnoticed resurgence over the past few years. The renaissance has been focused around the city's historic center, a compact, attractive and walkable peninsula. At the heart of this old town is Plaza Machado, which, thanks to the city's ongoing rebirth, is now surrounded by pleasant outdoor cafes and international restaurants. Just off the plaza is Teatro angela Peralta, a beautifully restored theater dating to 1874 and open today for concerts and other performances and live events.
Mazatlan is one long day's drive from the U.S. border. The main attraction is its almost 20 miles of beautiful beaches bordering the deep blue Pacific. These beaches are lined with developed resort infrastructure, including shopping, restaurants and cafes, as well as banks and other commercial establishments necessary for full-time living.
One reason Mazatlan is popular among North Americans is its excellent winter weather. From December through March, daytime temperatures hover in the high 70s, with lows in the low 60s and little to no rain. Between July and October, temperatures average around 90, with most rain falling between July and September.
Mazatlan's got everything a retiree dreaming of a new life on the Pacific coast could hope for. Furthermore, real estate in Mazatlan is a buyer's market, both on the coast and in the historic center of the city.
The closest beach to the Centro Historico is called Olas Altas, which means "high waves," a misnomer as the water here is sheltered and tame. The beach itself is a crescent-shaped, sandy cove about a quarter mile in length. This is lined with cafes, restaurants and a couple of hotels. Bright and early each morning, the tables at these seaside venues fill up with locals and expats who come down for a good cup of coffee and breakfast.
Centro Historico is the real Mexico. The areas around Plaza Machado and Olas Altas beach see their share of tourists, but the rest of Centro Historico is old fashioned and authentic. If a non-touristy Mexican lifestyle appeals to you, this charming neighborhood is worth a look. It's also an interesting choice if you're interested in the idea of buying and restoring a vintage piece of real estate.
At home here, you'd have the best of both old-fashioned coastal Mexico and modern amenities, with an attractive beach nearby. The weather is brilliant, sunny and comfortable during the North American winter, but the city's rental market is active year-round. Invest in a home of your own here, and you could earn cash flow to supplement your retirement income by renting out your place when you're not using it yourself.
At today's exchange rate, you could buy a modern apartment in Centro Historico in a building with a pool and other amenities that's located on the waterfront road with unobstructed views for as little as $220,000.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBy Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court in Manhattan rejected appeals by a music licensing group and music publishers that could have forced Internet radio service Pandora Media (P) to pay higher royalties and have access to fewer songs.
In a case closely watched in the music industry, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Wednesday an effort by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to increase the rate that Pandora must pay to license its music from 2013 to 2015.
It also said rules governing ASCAP licensing "unambiguously" barred music publishers from negotiating higher rates for their works with "new media" music users such as Pandora, even as ASCAP licensed the same works to other users.
Vivendi's Universal Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing had withdrawn their new media licensing rights from ASCAP, while retaining membership in that group.
Wednesday's decision is a defeat for publishers and songwriters who believe growth in streaming music has resulted in unfairly low licensing rates.
The decision upheld rulings by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan federal court. Under a 1941 antitrust consent decree, ASCAP rate disputes are reviewed there.
Pandora is the most popular Internet radio service. The Oakland, California-based company estimated last month that it has more than 250 million users, of whom 79.2 million are "active," who listen to 1.77 billion hours of music each month.
ASCAP had no immediate comment. Universal wasn't immediately available for comment. Sony/ATV, which also administers the EMI catalog, had no immediate comment.
'Equal Treatment'
Kenneth Steinthal, a King & Spalding partner representing Pandora, said the decision helps ensure "equal treatment under the consent decree, including the right to perform all works by all publishers that are ASCAP members."
The 2nd Circuit said Cote didn't commit "clear error" by requiring Pandora to pay ASCAP a royalty rate of just 1.85 percent of revenue to use its songs from 2011 through 2015. ASCAP had proposed an escalating rate that peaked at 3 percent.
Meanwhile, the court said it couldn't "rewrite the decree" to let publishers selectively choose how their works are licensed.
"The licensing of works through ASCAP is offered to publishers on a take-it-or-leave-it basis," the court said.
ASCAP said it has about 525,000 members, and represents music from artists like Leonard Bernstein, Beyonce, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Alan Jackson, Jay-Z and Katy Perry.
The cases are American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, et al., v. Pandora Media Inc., 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 14-1158, 14-1161, 14-1246.
The S&P 500 ended at a low not seen since early April after Yellen said high equity valuations could pose dangers, although she also said she doesn't see any bubbles forming.
Atlanta Federal Reserve bank president Dennis Lockhart said he still expects it will be appropriate to raise interest rates some time in the middle of the year, and that market expectations of a September increase were in "reasonable alignment" with the central bank's likely path.
"It shouldn't surprise anyone that we didn't break out to new highs this week, given that you had Yellen speaking today and payrolls coming out on Friday.
His and Yellen's comments came as investors try to pinpoint when the Fed will begin raising interest rates for the first time since 2006. An April payroll report later this week may affect when the Fed will make its move.
"Everyone is obsessed with the Fed," said Michael Church, president of Addison Capital Management in Philadelphia. "It shouldn't surprise anyone that we didn't break out to new highs this week, given that you had Yellen speaking today and payrolls coming out on Friday."
Most of Wall Street's top banks see the Federal Reserve holding off until at least September before raising interest rates, based on Reuters' most recent poll.
A worldwide drop in government bond prices also spread unease to Wall Street.
"Markets can handle slowly, gradually-rising interest rates as an economy continues to improve. The uncertainty is that these are pretty significant moves," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "That's why you're starting to see stocks sell off a little more aggressively."
Cutting losses of more than 1 percent in afternoon trade, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) fell 86.22 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,841.98, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GSPC) lost 9.31 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,080.15 and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) dropped 19.68 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,919.64.
Yellen's comments stung investors already nervous about stock prices. The S&P 500 currently trades at 17 times forward earnings, higher than its 10-year median of 15, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
With Wednesday's loss, the Dow was up just 0.1 percent in 2015 while the S&P was up 1 percent and the Nasdaq 3.9 percent higher.
Movers and Shakers
Apple (AAPL) was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 on Wednesday, down 0.6 percent.
MoneyGram (MGI) ended up 21.4 percent after Western Union said it wasn't in talks to buy the company. Western Union (WU) gained 4.3 percent.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,087 to 1,003, for a 2.08-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,455 issues fell and 1,285 advanced, for a 1.13-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 7 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq composite recorded 29 new highs and 73 new lows.
About 6.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 7.1 billion daily average for the last five sessions, according to BATS Global Markets.
What to watch Thursday:
The Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates at 10 a.m.
The Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for March at 3 p.m.
Earnings Season
These selected companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial results:
Getty Images
For the majority of you who own life insurance, it's perfectly fine to list individuals such as your spouse or children as beneficiaries on your life insurance policy.
But, there are a number of situations when it might be better to set up a trust and name it as the beneficiary of any life insurance policies you own instead. This could be especially important if you:
have a large estate;
your beneficiaries can't manage money;
you wish to protect their inheritance from creditors;
you have special needs children.
Depending on the type of trust, there are many benefits which can be found for those in a variety of unusual, or more complex financial and personal situations. There are simple trusts which can be established for the average person and more complex trusts for those with large estates.
Although there are many different types of trusts, we are going to focus on the advantages of using the following 4 types of trusts in conjunction with life insurance:
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, or ILIT
Simple Living Trust
Special Needs Trust
Spendthrift Trust
Let's take a look at these 4 different trusts and how you can enhance them by naming them as beneficiary to your life insurance policy.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
An ILIT is used to irrevocably purchase life insurance on the life of the insured (typically the grantor of the trust) and also to receive the death benefit.
Since the ILIT applies for the coverage, pays the premiums, and receives the death benefit when the insured dies, any life insurance proceeds paid to the trust are effectively removed from the insured's estate.
In the past, the ILIT was typically used by families who had estates valued in the $2 to $7 million range or higher. This was especially important in the early 2000's when the estate tax exemption was lower, such as $1 million a person in 2002 or $3.5 million in 2009. The ILIT wasn't only used to provide liquid funds to pay the estate tax bill, but also to ensure that life insurance proceeds paid to the trust would not be included in the insured's taxable estate, compounding their estate tax problem.
However, since congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013, effectively raising the estate tax exemption amount to over $5 million a person ($5.43 million in 2015, $10.86 million for a married couple), very few estates now owe federal estate taxes.
In fact, Nolo.com estimates that 99.5 percent of all estates will not owe any federal gift/estate tax. Therefore, using the irrevocable life insurance trust strictly for estate tax avoidance has become exceedingly less common.
But that's not the end of the story with ILIT's.
Rebecca Neale, attorney at Fort Point Legal, says that some people are neglecting to plan for another important type of death tax.
"Many people make the mistake of only considering federal estate tax. Since the federal estate tax exemption is $5.43 million per person, they might erroneously believe they won't owe any estate taxes.
However, many states also impose an estate tax, and some of them have much lower exemption amounts than the federal level. In other words, some peoples' estates that won't owe federal estate taxes may owe state estate tax. For example, in Massachusetts, the exemption amount is only $1 million, with tax rates as high as 16 percent."
A knowledgeable estate attorney will remind you that just because you don't currently exceed the $5.43 million estate exemption, an ILIT could still be important for individuals with growing estates.
Such is the case for the clients of Richard Trimber, an attorney at General Counsel. Trimber, who specializes in helping business owners and executives, says the ILIT is still an important planning tool for his clients, and frequently uses them in conjunction with buy-sell agreements.
Trimber explains:
"In many cases, when the life insurance policy is owned in the name of the owners or the business, the decedent's estate may owe estate taxes on the value of the business. However, when the policy is owned outside of the decedent's estate in an ILIT, and with a properly structured buy-sell agreement, the assets owned by the ILIT will not be considered part of the estate for inheritance/estate tax purposes -- meaning the heirs won't have to pay estate or inheritance taxes on them."
Simple Living Trust
You can also set up what is known as a "simple living trust" and have the choice of choosing between either a "revocable" trust which means that you can change the terms of the trust at any time, or an "irrevocable trust" which means that you can't change the terms at any time.
In a simple living trust, you transfer the ownership of your assets out of your name and into the name of the trust. You no longer own the assets that you have transferred but you can still use them as the trust specifies.
Besides the general benefits that any trust provides, such as avoiding probate and keeping your distribution wishes private, combining a living trust with life insurance can provide valuable asset protection for your loved ones.
Tina Dockery from the Dockery Law Group, specializes in wealth transfer planning and beneficiary planning.
"Estate planning is more than just transferring wealth; it's also about protecting your loved ones," Dockery says.
"One underrated estate planning technique is to funnel your life insurance into a protected continuing trust for your children or other beneficiaries," says Dockery. "If your life insurance beneficiary form designates your trust as the primary beneficiary, at your death or upon the death of your surviving spouse, your life insurance proceeds can be asset protected for your children from creditors, predators and future divorcing spouses in a continuing trust that can spring from specific language in your revocable living trust."
Special Needs Trust
According to Cornell University, disability statistics for children from age 5 to 15 reveal that 5.3 percent or approximately 2.93 million children have 1 or more disabilities. Many of these children are special needs children which require special care and long term planning for their continued quality of life.
Many parents have taken steps to protect and financially care for these special needs children, such as buying a life insurance policy. But, that might not be the best route to take. The first problem with this is that no life insurer will issue the life insurance proceeds to a beneficiary who is a minor. And, the second problem that arises when naming the child as beneficiary could end up in having the special needs child denied from accessing vital government services and benefits.
By properly setting up a "Special Needs Trust" funded by life insurance, you can both provide financial protection for special needs children and keep them eligible for government assistance. When properly set up, the special needs trust doesn't allow the recipient to own any of the estate's assets. This allows them to be eligible for other forms of government assistance. Yet, the trust can still be financially structured to provide for vital expenses such as transportation, home health care, rehab, medical and dental care not covered by Medicaid or Medicare, along with education.
One of the problems with these trusts, though, is parents don't typically have the cash to fund them properly. That's where life insurance steps up and fills the gap. For pennies on the dollar, you can fund the trust with your life insurance policy instead of a large cash deposit.
Spendthrift Trust
If you have a large life insurance policy (note: this varies for many but typically anything over a $1 million policy could qualify), and aren't sure you want your beneficiary receiving the entire amount in lump sum, you may want to consider naming a trust your beneficiary with a spendthrift clause. A spendthrift trust is specifically designed for a recipient who is considered as being a financial liability or unable to responsibly manage their financial affairs, such as if they have a gambling addiction. The trust is set up to be managed by an appropriate independent trustee.
The provisions in the trust will designate that the trustee will pay a set amount of money, such as life insurance proceeds, to the named recipient. How much and when the payments are dispersed will be specified by the terms outlined in the trust.
In this scenario, the recipient will only receive the amount designated by the trust. This could be for a specific number of years or for the lifespan of the recipient. This type of trust also contains some asset protection benefits. Creditors cannot claim any funds until the recipient has actually received the money. Many states have what is known as a doctrine of "surplus income." This means that a creditor can only attach any trust income received which exceeds any amount above that which is needed to support the recipient.
Some states have established a specified percentage amount of trust proceeds that cannot be attached. If the cost of setting up a trust with spendthrift provisions is prohibitive, you might consider buying a term life insurance policy from a carrier who will allow you to elect an annuity payment for your beneficiary rather than lump sum. While your beneficiary won't enjoy the asset protection of the trust in this scenario, at least you can accomplish the goal of spreading out his payments over a set period of years. The insurance companies also give you a break on the cost of insurance if you elect an annuity payout.
Regardless of what type of trust you decide upon it is vital that you follow all the appropriate legal protocols in the state you reside. Some trusts are much more complicated to set up, but any form of trust should be established by an experienced estate attorney.
Karen Hunziker was 60 when her husband, Charles, secured a reverse mortgage on their Pollock Pines, Californina, home. At the time, Hunziker was advised by the mortgage broker to remove her name from the title to qualify for the loan. "We were both very concerned that I could be giving up my property rights, but the salesperson assured us I would be protected until 62 years old, when I would be put on the title," said Hunziker.
However when she turned 62, Hunziker and her husband were informed by an attorney that the only way she could be on the title would be to refinance into a new reverse mortgage. She was subsequently told the couple would need to contribute $60,000 to get a new loan. "That was impossible because of the first reverse mortgage," said Hunziker, who works as an artist craftswoman.
Although the couple had lived in the home for 19 years, Hunziker received a foreclosure warning letter from Financial Freedom ten days after her husband passed away in May 2014. That's because Hunziker is a non-borrowing spouse.
HUD Changes the Rules
"Married couples were not informed that the consequence of taking the non-borrowing spouse off the loan could be that HUD [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] would allow the servicer to later foreclose on them," said Kevin Stein, associate director at the California Reinvestment Coalition. "We believe HUD allowing these foreclosures is both against the statute authorizing this program and contrary to how these loans are advertised as safe financial products to provide extra income while remaining in your home."
Although it was legal for brokers to make the mortgage only to Charles Hunziker, it wasn't accurate to say that his wife, Karen, could be added to the mortgage when she turned 62 or that she wouldn't face foreclosure if the older spouse passed away.
"HUD knew that reverse mortgages were being originated to only one spouse yet still allowed foreclosures on the surviving spouses, which is why they got sued," Stein said. "These foreclosures are contrary to how these products were marketed and to the statute authorizing these products."
HUD was ordered by a federal judge to revise its policies to address this problem after AARP and the Mehri & Skalet law firm sued. It did so in in January, but even HUD's new reverse mortgage policy won't protect Hunziker. "After a borrowing spouse passes away, the reverse mortgage servicer could assign the loan to HUD however even if the servicer chose this option at their discretion, the surviving spouse would then need to make a large, lump-sum payment to meet the principal limit test, which is something that most surviving spouses are unable to do," said Stein.
Another problem with the new HUD policy is its restrictions. "The policy is dependent on servicer discretion, so if the servicer doesn't want to provide relief, they don't have to," Stein said.
It's great that more folks are backing up their files using cloud-based services like DropBox. While hacker and virus writers get all the headlines, I think hardware failure is really the biggest risk most consumers face.
That said, cloud services have become such a part of the way we live, that we've gotten a little too casual about it. You've set your computer to back things up automatically, and you've also shared some cute cat photos with friends, and all that gets conflated so anyone can Google your tax returns.
Stop right now and think: Where are the digital copies of your tax returns? And by that, I mean all the copies. Have they been vacuumed up by some cloud service? If they have, are they at least password protected? Are you sure about that?
Maybe you'd be better off printing copies and putting them in a strongbox. While there's merit to having copies on your computer, don't forget that any hacker who breaks into your machine from now until the end of time will almost certainly search for "1040" a moment later; it's easy to find old tax returns on a computer. Store them there at your own risk. Learn more about safe online habits at my website.
Your Tax Return Could Be Open to the World
This is not a drill. At his excellent blog, Graham Cluley points out that file-sharing service Intralinks found a tax return on DropBox the other day using a trick that had been revealed more than a year ago. Someone had used DropBox to share files and then placed a tax return in his/her cloud space, which could be found using search engines. There are a few more details about how it works, which you can slog through if you like. Intralinks makes clear that this kind of vulnerability could apply to any file sharing service.
What should you do? Cluley says it's important to use the privacy settings that cloud services provide. Unfortunately, free DropBox users have fewer options than consumers who pay for the upgraded product. "If you use the free version of Dropbox, you should not use the Share Link facility as it could be leaked to a third party," he warns.
Intralinks also recommends getting into the habit of deleting old data you don't need any more from cloud services. And here's the best piece of advice: "Don't mix work and pleasure. Mixing work and personal files in a single account is, quite simply, a bad idea. Losing your personal data is serious enough, but losing company data can have severe consequences: lost reputation, reprimands and other professional consequences, regulatory and legal issues and even fines," the firm says.
And remember, "work" includes critical information like your tax returns. The cloud is great, but like all technology, it has a dark side and must be used thoughtfully.
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JupiterimagesGive mom some time to record her thoughts and memories.By Karen Cordaway
Mother's Day is almost here, and that means it's time to start planning how to celebrate. Whether you're looking for a unique gift or hoping to do something special, here are five affordable ideas that can fit any budget.
1. Capture memories and let mom express herself. Journaling can be a way for mom to reflect, recall funny moments or just express herself.
Bookstores carry blank journals as well as those with a theme or prompts to jumpstart your writing. "I Need to Unplug" is for those who want a break from digitals gadgets and a world of too much information inundating us. If you like to freeze a moment in time, "Letters to My Future Self" helps you jot down thoughts that are meant for you to read later in the future. The book serves as a physical time capsule for thoughts.
If you'd like to give a gift that keeps on giving short snippets of rejuvenation throughout the year, "The Five Minute Journal" can help mom ground herself and release the power of positive thinking. Writing can be a tool that helps you shift your focus to a positive one with this journal. In just five minutes, you answer questions on a page filled with inspiring quotes, weekly challenges, affirmations and more using a structured format to reflect, refocus and jot down thoughts.
If you plan to write more extensively or maybe even take up blogging, Donna Freedman, who has made a living as a writer for 31 years, now teaches people how to be better writers at WriteABlogPeopleWillRead.com. "Put down more than just the cute things your kids said that day or the last-minute work project that had you pulling 60-hour weeks. Also, write about what's happening in the world at large and how you feel or fear it might affect your family," she says.
2. Make brunch at home. If food is more alluring than writing, brunch might be an option. However, eating out on Mother's Day can be pricey and not necessarily easy when you bring the kids. Even though it's your special day, you may still be on duty with the kids which isn't exactly rejuvenating. Instead of going out, consider making mom a meal at home. Consider putting your family to work while mom kicks her feet up.
Kelly Whalen, creator of the TheCentsibleLife.com and mother of four, believes in having the family take care of all the details and give mom a day off on Mother's Day. She thinks sleeping in and then starting the morning with a fresh cup of coffee is ideal. She also believes a table full of an array of favorite foods is a perfect gift such as scrambled eggs with chives, all the bacon you can eat, gluten-free strawberry muffins, more coffee and a side of mimosas are affordable options yet still special.
3. Focus on dessert. Whether dessert is the main event or a way to finish off the day, frozen yogurt is very popular. However, it can get expensive quickly. To keep costs down while satisfying your family's sweet tooth, implement a rule. Maybe everyone gets one topping instead of two. You can also remind overzealous kids to be cognizant of how high to fill up their cup since it's weighed.
4. Make mom over. For moms, priorities often shift and getting the latest mascara, eye shadow or lipstick may no longer be at the top of their shopping list. Purchase a gift card to mom's favorite place to buy makeup. If possible, schedule a makeover. Many department stores and makeup shops will do it for free. However, it's etiquette to purchase something afterwards. Call around to schedule an appointment.
5. Splurge at the grocery store. Maybe you've skipped over a fancy cheese or a costly cut of tenderloin during your regular grocery store trips. Mother's Day is the perfect opportunity to splurge at the grocery store on these types of items. On some level, it will still be cheaper than a restaurant. Check out magazines like "Every Day with Rachel Ray" to figure out what to pair together. You'll have an impressive spread and mom will be appreciate the effort and creativity you put together.
When it comes to celebrating a special day for mom, we can fall into a trap of thinking the more we spend, the better the experience will be. However, it doesn't have to be that way. As you get ready to celebrate Mother's Day, no matter what you decide to do, be sure to check out affordable options like these so you can make mom feel special without having a big bill to pay afterwards.
Karen Cordaway is a teacher and writer who currently shares money saving tips on her website, MoneySavingEnthusiast.com.
Texting plus driving is a recipe for disaster. Despite the known danger and some laws aimed at preventing it, many people still try to juggle the demands of operating a car with typing and sending text messages. Enter the RayGo, a new device that claims to make texting while driving safer.
According to Ozy, the RayGo is a five-key control device that mounts on your steering wheel and connects to your phone via an app that then switches your favorite apps to "drive mode," so they work with voice feedback.
"Drive mode" works with Gmail, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, just to name a few. Simply press on the five-way control with your thumb and listen as the Siri-esque RayGo voice provides options such as "select action," "next" and "OK." Nintendo fans will feel right at home.
Project Ray, the parent company of the RayGo, specializes in technology that makes it possible for the blind and visually impaired to use a smartphone.
"RayGo modifies this technology to allow for 'eyes-free' use of one's smartphone behind the wheel," Geektime said.
The RayGo also uses your phone's GPS sensors and embedded accelerometer to figure out your speed and direction, Ozy noted.
If you're driving quickly, the voice responses get slower and more pronounced. If you're in the middle of making a turn and you receive a message, the RayGo will hold it.
Pretty slick, right? Of course, there are drawbacks. Although it's small, attaching the RayGo to your steering wheel could not only prevent you from properly gripping the wheel, it could also thwart the safe deployment of your airbag, Ozy noted.
Accident lawyer Jennifer Ashley, a partner with Illinois-based Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., told Ozy that using a device that enables hands-free texting poses a risk of causing an accident. "In my opinion, a device such as RayGo should not be legal," she says.
But there are some people who are going to text and play on their phone regardless of whether they're behind the wheel of a car. This device was designed with them in mind.
"RayGo doesn't let you look at the phone," Arielle Tayar, community and social media manager for RayGo, told Geektime.
"As soon as you start to drive, it turns the screen into a different visual graphic. If you're speeding up or turning, the RayGo motion sensor detects that you're using more cognitive ability, so it will slow down the user interaction flow. It will hold back from telling you that you have a new message."
"As soon as you're on a straight road," said Tayar, "and traveling at the speed limit, RayGo will read that email for you."
RayGo is expected to retail for $79. It will start shipping in the fall, Ozy said. It's only available for Androids, but an iPhone version of the app should be available later this year.
Do you think the RayGo is a safe answer to texting and driving, or is it simply enabling drivers to continue a dangerous activity? Sound off below or on our Facebook page. And share this article on your Facebook page.
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Jeff Chiu/APComcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco last November.
The defection of Comcast (CMCSK) (CMCSA) cable television subscribers continues. The leading provider closed out its latest quarter with 22.375 million video customers, 8,000 fewer than it had just three months earlier.
This isn't new. Cable television accounts peaked at nearly 27 million in 2007, and it's been largely downhill ever since. Comcast has actually posted sequential declines in video accounts in 29 of the past 32 quarters. Put another way, there have been just three quarters over the past eight years when Comcast has ended a quarter with more cable television subs than it had when the quarter began.
That's rough, but it's not just Comcast. Cable television in general has been fading in popularity, with the four largest publicly traded cable providers losing a combined 751,000 video customers last year. The industry has been talking about "cord-cutters" for the past few years, singling out folks who are giving up costly cable programs. They're latching on to cheaper programming including streaming platforms, or simply going cold turkey. Now there's a new term called "cord-nevers" to denote the millennials who never signed up for cable or satellite TV, and probably never will.
However, if you think that this is the beginning of the end for Comcast, you're wrong. For better or worse, Comcast is just getting started.
Attack of the Killer Broadband
Comcast may still be licking its wounds from its failure to acquire Time Warner Cable (TWC) last month, but it doesn't need your pity. Comcast's latest quarter delivered revenue, earnings, and free cash flow that were all well above the prior year's showing.
Comcast -- the most hated company in America if you go by last year's Consumerist tournament -- has been planning for the day when you kiss it goodbye as your cable TV provider. It has diversified into new revenue streams, with no purchase as important as NBCUniversal. That deal found Comcast as the owner of the content it was peddling to fewer homes since 2007. Comcast once tried to buy Disney (DIS), but the family entertainment giant shot it down. Now with NBCUniversal in its arsenal, Comcast has its own collection of major networks, cable channels, and theme parks.
However, the fastest growing business at Comcast these days is its broadband offering. Comcast remains the country's most popular choice for high-speed Internet, and just as 8,000 net subscribers canceled its cable service during the first three months of the year, Comcast closed out the March quarter with 407,000 more broadband accounts.
There are now 22.369 million high-speed Internet subscribers at Comcast, and last month we finally saw broadband accounts overtake cable television accounts.
That's the rub for cord-cutters and cord-nevers. They want to kiss their cable provider goodbye, but they also need fast and reliable connectivity to lean on streaming video platforms. Comcast is there for that, making sure that it's the one that disrupts itself.
It's not the only market that Comcast is disrupting. Its Web-based phone service continues to grow in popularity, and that's naturally coming at the expense of telecom landline providers. Everywhere you turn, Comcast is there. It's not going away, for better or worse.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
NEW YORK -- McDonald's may be developing a taste for a new ingredient as it fights to reinvent itself: Kale.
The world's biggest burger chain says it's testing two breakfast bowls in Southern California, one of which includes the leafy green as an ingredient.
The test comes as McDonald's (MCD) works to shake its junk food image, with sales at established U.S. locations declining for six straight quarters. CEO Steve Easterbrook, who stepped into the top spot March 1, has said he want to turn the chain into a "modern, progressive burger company."
Lisa McComb, a McDonald's representative, said in an email the kale is included in a Turkey Sausage & Egg White bowl, which also has spinach and bruschetta. The other option is a Chorizo & Egg bowl, which includes a hash brown, cheddar jack cheese and pico de gallo.
On Wednesday, Janney analyst Mark Kalinowski had also noted on that McDonald's was introducing three salads in Canada that have kale as an ingredient.
The embrace of kale may seem odd to some, considering McDonald's recently ran an ad that celebrated the Big Mac and mocked trendy ingredients like soy, quinoa, Greek yogurt -- and kale.
NEW YORK -- With university tuition and student debt at record highs, many people wonder if it's worth it to go to college.
But according to Georgetown University professor Anthony Carnevale, the truly important issue that will affect a student's future is picking a major.
While attending college will boost your earnings by roughly a million dollars over the average lifetime, your particular major is even more important, according to the new study "The Economic Value of College Majors," compiled by Carnevale and his team at Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce.
In fact, the spread between the highest-earning and the lowest-earning major and is a whopping $3.4 million in lifetime wages.
Reuters recently chatted with Carnevale about what students -- and parents -- need to know as they mull over college majors:
Q: When students think about college, what do they usually get wrong?
A: What determines what you make in life is not where you go to college, but the subject you take when you get there. In the American mind the goal is to just go to college and get a degree, but to some extent that is missing the point.
In economic terms, that is not what the game is about. The difference in the value of college degrees is enormous, and it has been getting stronger and stronger, ever since the early 1980s.
Q: What are among the highest-earnings majors?
A: Engineering degrees are almost all of the top 10. In particular, petroleum engineering has busted out of the pack. The market is so tight that you don't even need a graduate degree. It's like a gold mine.
Q: And the lowest-earning?
A: Early childhood education. That's one of the sad things about these numbers: That people who serve others, like teachers, don't make as much as other majors. They do have pretty high job security, but in terms of wages, they're the bottom of the heap.
Q: But as you point out, these are just average numbers, which can vary widely.
A: Your major is important, but it's not your destiny. You can take a lower-earning major like education, but if you have a strong career and are in the top 25 percent of your field, you can make as much or more than a business major. So people who do well in their careers come out OK, no matter what they take.
Q: Given all the numbers you've looked at, is it worth it to go to college?
A: In general, yes, it is worth it. That's because you are going to pay tuition for four or five years, and then earn money off that degree for 45 years. In fact, it is hard to even get in the door these days without a college degree.
Q: How valuable are graduate degrees?
A: There are three types of graduate degrees. With one type, you basically have to get one these days, or you won't earn a decent wage: That includes areas like education, psychology, and
arts and humanities.
The second type of grad degree is where you'll be a little better off with one, like in business. With the third type you'd be crazy not to get one, because you make so much more money: That's in areas like science and technology or healthcare.
Q: What surprised you most about this year's numbers?
A: The extent to which all the majors hold up. Even with a major that's relatively weak, like humanities, it's not to say college isn't worth it. It still is. Earnings took a bit of a dive after the recession, but long term, the strength of the labor market for college grads has been holding up.
Q: For a kid who is getting ready for college right now, what advice would you have about choosing a major?
A: The first thing is to give it some time, and figure out who you are and what you do well because if you don't like it and aren't passionate about it, you are going to end up in the
bottom of that field.
Once you know what interests you and where your abilities lie, then you can start developing a strategy. The quicker you figure it all out, the better off you're going to be. These decisions have real staying power that will affect the rest of your life.
(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Panera Bread (PNRA) is saying "no, no" to 150 artificial ingredients in hopes you'll say "yes, yes" to its "clean" menu offerings.
The trendy bakery-cafe fast-casual restaurant chain, headquartered in a St. Louis suburb, is the latest food company responding to customers demanding fresh, natural and minimally processed foods, as shown in a Nielsen survey.
Panera is sharing its "No No List" of ingredients that will be removed from or never appear in its menu items.
The 'No No List' is the latest step on our journey to clean food and a transparent menu.
"Last year we unveiled our Food Policy to hold ourselves accountable to long-held values and set the future vision for our menu," founder and CEO Ron Shaich said in a prepared statement announcing the ingredient ban. "The 'No No List' is the latest step on our journey to clean food and a transparent menu."
The artificial additives on the list will be removed from bakery items, soups, salads and sandwiches.
On May 6, Panera launched what it called "clean" salad dressings, made without artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors and preservatives. Panera salads, including the Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad and Kale Caesar, are made entirely without these artificial additives, the company said.
"Dressings have been one of the most complex projects given the number of artificial additives -- namely flavors and preservatives -- conventionally used for taste and consistency," said Dan Kish, Panera Bread's head chef.
Kish told NPR he and his team pored over hundreds of additives and asked two questions: What is this? And why is it used?
For example, when he learned titanium dioxide was added to mozzarella cheese just to create an ultra-white appearance, he said, "Let's just take it out."
Other companies recently claiming they want to make their foods with more simple, easy-to-understand ingredients include Nestle, Hershey (HSY) and Kraft (KRFT), which will make its macaroni and cheese without its artificial orange hue. Some companies, including candy makers, are removing artificial colors and flavorings. Others, such as McDonald's, say they are working to remove antibiotics from meat and poultry in their food chains.
In April, Chipotle announced that it had eliminated all genetically modified ingredients from the foods sold in its national restaurant chain, saying that GMOs require more research before their impact can be understood.
Panera officials and others acknowledge the removal of artificial ingredients alone won't necessarily make their dishes any healthier.
"We are not scientists," Shaich said.
Still the move won praise from some watchdogs groups.
"With this bold commitment, Panera is showing impressive leadership in the restaurant industry to give consumers what they increasingly demand: food with fewer artificial ingredients and additives," said Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group president and co-founder.
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The luxury-home market saw a burst of sales activity in the first quarter, though prices are starting to fall.
According to the CNBC Luxury Real Estate Report, compiled by Redfin, sales of homes priced at $1 million or more were up 13 percent year over year -- the strongest year-on-year increase in several quarters. Yet the average sales price fell 0.6 percent year over year, to an average of $1.83 million.
In some of these markets, like San Francisco, sellers put big prices on their homes and expected a flood of high-income buyers, but the bidding wars never materialized.
Nela Richardson, Redfin's chief economist, said the rising sales and softer prices suggest that some homes priced at $1 million or more were overpriced and are now seeing price cuts.
"In some of these markets, like San Francisco, sellers put big prices on their homes and expected a flood of high-income buyers, but the bidding wars never materialized," she said. "The buyers are smarter today."
For the luxury markets tracked by Redfin, which doesn't include New York City, there were 14,122 homes that sold for $1 million or more in the first quarter, up from 12,492 in the first quarter of 2014. There were 395 homes that sold for $5 million or more, up from 349 last year.
While sales increased, so did inventory -- especially in Texas. Total inventory of million-dollar homes ticked up by 1.6 percent in the quarter, but it jumped 48.2 percent in Houston.
Inventory of homes priced at $5 million or more rose 10 percent.
Demand remains especially high in Silicon Valley, as the tech money continues to pour into real estate. A home in Los Altos, California, sold in the first quarter for $8.5 million -- more than $1.5 million above the asking price. A home in nearby Palo Alto sold for $6.5 million on an asking price of $5.5 million.
Have you ever walked into a store to pick up one item only to find yourself walking out with a whole lot more than you planned? It happens to the best of us, but thankfully there are some simple and effective ways to keep those bad spending habits in check.
First, if you'd like to cut down on your impulse buying, make a list and stick to it. It takes discipline, but doing this can potentially save you hundreds each year. Our emotions affect how and when we spend. Whenever you find yourself on a shopping spree, notice how you're feeling. If you can identify your emotional triggers, you can come up with alternate responses. For example, if you buy a snack every time you're feeling bored, try going for a walk instead.
Next, if you're frequently blowing cash on small purchases like coffee or snacks, there's a simple way to break the habit. Create a long-term goal, like going on a dream vacation or building up your savings account to a certain amount. Then, any time you're tempted to buy a few treats, put that money toward your goal.You might be surprised at how fast your savings can add up!
Lastly, if you have a hard time resisting daily deals popping up in your email, it might be time to unsubscribe from those mailing lists. Buying things you need is one thing, but if you're constantly purchasing restaurant coupons and teeth whitening services, you might be spending compulsively, so get off the lists and remove the temptation.
Don't let a few bad spending habits slow down your savings. While these strategies might seem like common sense, putting them into practice can be the key to a healthy budget.
Matt Slocum/AP
Lumber Liquidators (LL) has suspended the sale of all laminate flooring made in China a week after disclosing that the Justice Department is seeking criminal charges against the specialty retailer in an investigation over imported products.
The flooring supplier said Thursday that it decided to suspend the sales while a board committee completes a review of its sourcing compliance program.
The CBS news show "60 Minutes" reported in March that the company's laminate flooring made in China contained high levels of the carcinogen formaldehyde.
The company has sent thousands of air testing kits to customers since early March. It said more than 97 percent of the kits from customers with laminate flooring from China showed formaldehyde air concentrations that fell within World Health Organization guidelines.
It also said its suppliers have certified and labeled the flooring as compliant with California formaldehyde standards. But Lumber Liquidators is reviewing those certification processes.
Lumber Liquidators said last week that it has spent $2.3 million on its air-quality assurance program. The company also has said it has stopped buying Chinese laminate flooring for now, opting instead for products from parts of Europe and North America.
Lumber Liquidators also said last week in a regulatory filing that the Justice Department is seeking charges under the Lacey Act which, among other things, bans illegally sourced wood products.
Company shares rose 52 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $27.75 in midday trading Thursday. The stock had approached $70 a share in late February.
McDonald's via AP
NEW YORK -- Based on McDonald's latest ad, it looks as though the Hamburglar settled down in the suburbs and spent the last decade going to youth soccer games and perfecting his stubble.
The company is bringing the burger thief back to its advertising after a 13-year absence. On Wednesday, McDonald's (MCD) tweeted a 30-second ad featuring the Hamburglar, his face unseen, flipping burgers in a suburban backyard with his wife and son. When he hears a radio ad for McDonald's new burgers, he drops his spatula in shock.
In April, McDonald's announced that it is introducing a trio of "Sirloin Third Pound" burgers for a limited time, the latest sign the chain is pushing to improve perceptions about the quality of its food. In Wednesday's ad, those burgers lure the Hamburglar out of his quiet retirement.
Publicity photos reveal a grown man in a more fashionable version of the old costume, including a black trenchcoat and fedora with a yellow band. The previous version of the character appeared to be a mischievous child dressed in an old time black-and-white prisoner's uniform with a hat and cape.
McDonald's is working to turn around its business, which has seen sales and customer visits decline due to tough competition and the perception that its food is low quality. This year the company has announced a simplified grilled chicken recipe and said it will curb the use of antibiotics in its chicken, among other changes.
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based chain gave Ronald McDonald a makeover last year and gave him an official Instagram account. Some observers described his new apparel, which included a bowtie and rugby shirt, as hipster-y.
Eric Risberg/APYelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman at his company's headquarters in San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Yelp's slumping stock is bouncing back on a report that the online business review service may be sold.
The Wall Street Journal says Yelp is working with investment bankers to court potential suitors following a series of disappointments that have wiped out more than half of the company's market value during the past eight months. The Journal cited people it didn't identify who are familiar with the matter and cautioned that Yelp (YELP) still might not pursue a sale.
Yelp didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company's stock surged $7.38, or 19.3 percent, to $45.60 in afternoon trading. That still leaves the shares well below their 52-week high of $86.88 reached in September.
If Yelp auctions itself off, the sales price would probably exceed $3 billion.
WASHINGTON -- Consumers increased their borrowing in March by the largest amount in nearly a year as borrowing on credit cards rebounded following two months of declines.
Consumer borrowing expanded by $20.5 billion in March to a fresh record of $3.36 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. It was the largest increase since a $26.7 billion surge in April 2014.
Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards shot up $4.4 billion to $889.4 billion in March after having fallen in both January and March. It was the biggest gain for consumer credit since last July.
Borrowing in the category that covers auto and student loans rose $16.2 billion to $2.47 trillion.
The overall increase in consumer credit was bigger than economists had been expecting and the February performance was revised higher.
The jump in borrowing on credit cards could be evidence that consumers are beginning to feel more confident about taking on debt to finance retail purchases, a development that should bolster consumer demand in the months ahead. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
Consumer spending growth slowed sharply in the January-March quarter, a big factor in the slowdown in overall growth. The economy eked out a tiny 0.2 percent increase in gross domestic product in the first quarter.
Economists believe GDP growth will rebound to 2 percent to 2.5 percent in the current April-June period and will climb to an even better 3 percent rate in the second half of the year. But those forecasts are heavily dependent on a solid rebound in consumer spending.
Consumer borrowing in the Fed's monthly report is up 6.9 percent from a year ago, a gain heavily influenced by the rise in the auto and student loan category. Growth in the category that covers credit cards has also accelerated in the past year.
The Fed's monthly credit report does not cover mortgages or other loans backed by real estate such as home equity loans.
Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesA Blue Bell ice cream truck outside a Walmart store after the company recalls all products following a listeria contamination last month.By MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON -- Blue Bell ice cream had evidence of listeria bacteria in its Oklahoma manufacturing plant as far back as March 2013, a government investigation released Thursday says. The company then continued to ship ice cream produced in that plant after what the Food and Drug Administration says was inadequate cleaning.
The FDA released its investigations into Blue Bell's plants in Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama after a Freedom of Information request by The Associated Press. The most extensive violations were found in Oklahoma, where the FDA released 16 separate positive tests for listeria on equipment and in ice cream from March 2013 through January 2015.
Blue Bell didn't immediately respond to a phone call or email seeking comment.
Violations in the Oklahoma plant include dirty equipment, inadequate food storage, food being held at improper temperatures and employees not washing hands adequately.
There were also violations at the Texas and Alabama plants. In Alabama, FDA investigators observed at least two employees working with the food wearing soiled clothing. In Texas, investigators saw condensation dripping directly into food and onto surfaces that came directly in contact with food. In all of the plants, the FDA found dirty equipment and infrastructure that made cleaning difficult.
Listeria generally only affects the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women and their newborn infants. It can cause fever, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms. The worst cases are fatal. It can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and serious illness or death in newborn babies.
The bacteria are found in soil and water that can be tracked into a facility or carried by animals. Listeria can be very difficult to get rid of once it contaminates a processing facility, partly because it grows well in refrigeration. It is commonly found in processed meats, unpasteurized cheeses and unpasteurized milk, and it is sometimes found in other foods as well -- listeria in cantaloupes was linked to 30 deaths in a 2011 outbreak.
NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks ended higher Thursday, helped by a jump in tech stocks and a reversal in surging global interest rates.
Strong quarterly results from Alibaba as well as speculation that consumer review website Yelp.com could be for sale drove technology stocks higher, with the S&P tech index up 0.87 percent.
That drastic, draconian move in bonds and violent updraft in oil are settling a little bit and that's helping us focus on stocks.
A recent run-up in global interest rates that has worried Wall Street also showed signs of stabilizing, while a rally in oil prices snapped.
"That drastic, draconian move in bonds and violent updraft in oil are settling a little bit and that's helping us focus on stocks," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.
Investors are looking ahead to Friday's April payroll report that will offer a fresh indication of the economy's health and could potentially affect when the Fed raises interest rates for the first time since 2006. Most of Wall Street's top banks see the Federal Reserve holding off until at least September before raising interest rates, based on Reuters' most recent poll.
"Tomorrow's report would have to be a monster month for us to believe June is back on the table," Hogan said.
How Stocks Fared
The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 82.08 points, or 0.46 percent, to end at 17,924.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GSPC) gained 7.85 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,088 and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) added 25.90 points, or 0.53 percent, to 4,945.54.
After the bell, CBS Corp.'s (CBS) first-quarter results exceeded expectations and its stock was up 1 percent in extended trade.
In Thursday's trading session, nine of the 10 S&P 500 sectors were positive, led by technology and financial indices.
Alibaba's (BABA) shares jumped 7.5 percent as the Chinese e-commerce giant reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue.
Yahoo (YHOO), which holds a stake in Alibaba, ended up 5.3 percent.
Yelp (YELP) soared 23 percent after The Wall Street Journal reported that the operator of consumer review website Yelp.com is exploring a sale.
Oil prices fell after touching their highest in 2015 on Wednesday, pushing the energy index down 1.1 percent while lifting airline stocks.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,763 to 1,292, for a 1.36-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,528 issues rose and 1,207 fell for a 1.27-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 7 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq composite was recording 46 new highs and 60 new lows.
About 6.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 7.1 billion daily average for the last five sessions, according to BATS Global Markets.
-With additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal.
What to watch Friday:
The Labor Department releases employment data for April at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
The Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for March at 10 a.m.
Earnings Season
These selected companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial results:
Have you ever walked into a store to pick up one item only to find yourself walking out with a whole lot more than you planned? It happens to the best of us, but thankfully there are some simple and effective ways to keep those bad spending habits in check.
