• military.com - Soldiers & Sailors Relief Act
• palmone.com - iPods and other devices

The iPod has become a cult item. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a mini digital music player that allows you to hold up to 6,000 or so songs. People who are into music love these things. And, according to Wired News, people are now posting ideas online about what they hope the next iPod launch will be. Some ideas are iPod phones and iPod watches. Right now there is the iPod Spec, which are glasses that play music, and the iPod pen, which also plays tunes. The Trio 600 allows you to listen to music, check e-mail and buy stock all in the same device. What would you pay for these devices? They are out of most people’s price range right now at between $300 and $600. But they will go down in price.

Clark feels strongly that eBay, the online auction site, needs to take more action to combat the fraud on its site. He thinks that because eBay is the “auction house,” the company has a duty to prevent fraud. But eBay says it is not involved in the transaction so it has no duty. Christa, Clark’s executive producer, feels the same way eBay does. She thinks it’s impossible for eBay to police everyone and everything on its site. Well, now the courts want to weigh in on the matter because of an investigation sparked by the jewelry company Tiffany. Tiffany was worried about fakes floating around on eBay, so the company conducted its own investigation. Turns out that, during the investigation, eBay posted 186 pieces of Tiffany jewelry and three quarters of it was phony. Tiffany tried contacting eBay for five months until the company finally pulled the fake merchandise. There were a total of 19,000 fake Tiffany items on eBay, according to the LA Times. Clark believes eBay is doing a pathetic job preventing fraud and counterfeiters from taking over its site. There is no way for consumers to know when they’re buying a legitimate product. So, until the courts come up with a decision and eBay steps up to the plate, you have to be your own advocate for protection. It’s buyer beware and you need to check out people you’re selling to and buying from. In the meantime, the company should consider a bonded seller policy, so that all sellers must go through a screening process. There needs to be more buyer protection on the site if it’s going to maintain consumers’ faith in the company.

There are many positive things going on with the economy today. First of all, after nothing but bad news on the oil front for months, oil at wholesale and gasoline at retail are both going the way of the consumer. Gas prices peaked around Memorial Day, as they normally do, and now they’re trending downward. It’s unknown whether it will last or if it’s a very temporary thing. Regardless, consumers have more money to spend on other things right now. And we definitely are spending. In fact, spending has increased higher than the rate of inflation, which ultimately affects what happens with our country economically. It creates momentum that helps the economy grow moving forward. Eventually, employers will have to do more hiring and consumers will reach a point of equilibrium, where they feel more confident about the economy. Clark would like you to use this time of optimism to wipe out some of your debts. Also, if you’re in a job you dislike, you have a better chance to find one you like or even love. One in four people say jobs are “hard to get” right now, while one in five say “jobs are plentiful.” That is a huge improvement and it’s only going to get better.

Delta is moving closer and closer to bankruptcy. Another step in that direction happened yesterday with the formation of a creditor’s committee. It usually happens during bankruptcy, but Delta’s situation is so precarious that it’s happened beforehand. Vendors, pilots and debt holders are all involved and are getting prepared for one of three scenarios. The first is called a “non-judicial reorganization,” which means that the company doesn’t file for bankruptcy but everyone agrees to steps that would normally take place during the bankruptcy process. Basically, workers take pay cuts, benefit cuts and agree to work more hours. People who are owed by Delta agree to receive less. Everyone involved takes a hit. American was able to do this, but it’s very rare. Stockholders have the greatest risk if Delta files for bankruptcy, so that is what the company tries to prevent. The other two options involve different forms of bankruptcy. The first is called a “pre-packaged bankruptcy.” Everyone on the committee works out what they are willing to do, the stockholders get wiped out. It’s a quick in and out proposition. The last and most difficult is the type of bankruptcy in which United is involved. United had no other choice because it had worked nothing out with creditors. So the company is still struggling to come up with a working plan in bankruptcy. So, for employees, the non-judicial plan is the best scenario. For passengers, a pre-packaged deal is the best because the company will come up with all kinds of deals. Passengers will also benefit if the company files for bankruptcy. But the airline will not shut down, regardless of what Delta does.

About 10 million Americans had their identities stolen last year. There has been an abysmal failure on the part of the banking industry, retailers and, of course, the credit bureaus. The bureaus have an uncaring attitude in regard to identity theft and Clark says they belong in the “Hall of Shame.” As a result of all of this apathy, prosecutors have a very tough time putting away identity thieves. It’s very hard to get the level of proof required to send someone to prison. But that is about to change. The House and Senate have passed the “Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act.” Now it goes to President Bush, and Clark knows of no reason why he would not sign this bill into law. What it does is allow prosecutors to send someone to prison just for having information about you or your identity. Currently, prosecutors had to prove that someone actively used your information in the commission of a crime. Now, simply being in possession of the information is enough to send someone away. ID theft has been able to grow so much because cases are very time consuming and it’s very confusing to present the case in court. Yes, we need more legislation, but this is a big help. One of the biggest perpetuators of identity theft is the retail industry. Retailers continue to issue instant credit, which is one of the easiest ways to steal someone else’s identity. If someone steals your identity, the first place he or she will go is to a store that sells merchandise that is easy to fence. That includes computers and electronics. So, the thief goes to that store acting as you, gets credit and buys up the store on your bill. So, the retail sector needs to be reigned in. How? Consumers should try to prevent instant credit by writing to their representatives in Congress. If people had to wait a day or two for their identities to be verified, it would prevent identity thieves from racking up huge debts in your name. But it would also stop people from “impulse buying,” which scares retailers to death. We’ll keep you posted!

Have you ever sat in a “stadium seating” movie theater? Almost all of us have. Well, except for Clark. But people love this new kind of futuristic seating, especially in movie theaters. There are now 18,000 theaters with stadium-style seating. There’s only one problem. People in wheelchairs can’t get to the seats because the rows have steps. One of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to accommodate the handicapped in public places. But theater chains completely ignored the law in their rush to build these theaters and make money. Theater chain operators are complaining that reconstructing their theaters will cost billions of dollars. But they could have prevented that if they’d made arrangements in the beginning. Sports arenas are another problem area. Some have made accommodations specifically for the handicapped. But others have either totally overlooked it or have made wheelchair rows behind regular rows. The problem with that is that when non-disabled people stand, those in wheelchairs behind them cannot see. But movie theaters haven’t made any arrangements at all, and now they will have to work out some kind of retrofit. New theaters will have to be built. If only a little bit of thought or caring had gone into this in the first place.