RealtyTrac.com - Analysis of foreclosure markets in 2007
ConsumerAffairs.com - Beware of mattress buying scams

The nation's largest cable company has now admitted that it's purposely degrading your Internet experience when you watch a competitor's video online. At first Comcast was not forthcoming about its practices, but now the company has fessed up in a federal filing. Clark invites a Comcast spokesperson to come on the show and explain how they can justify their actions. Their excuse is that they're trying to make sure your Internet experience is reliable. Huh? Clark is really scratching his head over that one. What they're really doing is purposely conspiring against your good experience by forcing you to their content -- especially their cable service.

If you pay Comcast, who are they to be judge, jury and executioner and prevent you from accessing what you want online? This goes back to the issue of Net neutrality. For example, the phone company is required to complete your call as dialed; they can't decide that there's not enough revenue in the call for them and just disconnect you. Net neutrality does not permit it. Likewise, Comcast can't infringe on your rights. Congress will soon have hearings to discuss the Internet Freedom Preservation Act. Comcast is essentially deciding what speech you can and can't access. Clark knows that the cable providers are monopolies. Yet he's not aware of any of the other cable monopolies engaging in this despicable behavior. This has got to be stopped. If it's not, how soon will it be before the others try to engage in this funny business too? Clark has never feared media companies getting bigger, but there have to be some rules of engagement for capitalism and a cop on the beat.

Fast food is a subject that's near and dear to Clark's heart. The fast food chains are discounting their menus because they're hurting for customers right now. Wendy's has come out with the Stack Attack double cheeseburger for 99 cents, while McDonald's and Burger King have their own $1 double cheeseburgers. The fast food index is a leading indicator of difficulty in the economy. So you'll see value menus start to grow as disposable income continues to shrink. Fast food restaurants need their so-called "heavy eaters" -- people who are super-loyal to a particular brand and dine out about 5 or more times a week. Many heavy eaters are younger men who are price sensitive. As a bit of trivia, do you know who started the value pricing trend in fast food? If you thought McDonald's, you're incorrect. They've marketed it so well that you would immediately think of them. But Taco Bell actually started it on a national basis with their 59 cent value menu.

CLARKONOMICS: A new report analyzing markets that were most affected by foreclosure in 2007 finds that the Detroit metro area is at the top of the list. The top 100 markets saw a 78% increase in foreclosures in a year. While Detroit is up 68% by comparison, Motor City has a whopping 5% of homes in foreclosure right now. At No. 2, we have Stockton, CA, with just under 5% of homes in foreclosure. Rounding out the top 10 is Las Vegas; Riverside, CA; Sacramento, CA; Cleveland, Ohio; Bakersfield, CA; Miami; Denver and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Rounding out the top 20 we have Atlanta; Akron, Ohio; Memphis, TN; Fresno, CA; Dayton, Ohio; Oakland, CA; Warren, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Toledo, Ohio; and Orlando, FL.

Many of these markets like Detroit, Akron, Dayton and Toledo were never part of the housing bubble. But now they're a part of the bust -- thanks to poor job markets. Atlanta didn't bubble either, but it was front and center in the sub-prime mortgage mess. Most of the other cities listed above were bubble markets. It could be 10 years before equilibrium comes and housing stabilizes. Those who bought in a bubble market during the last 36 months will really feel the crunch the most.

You have to look back to the dot.bomb era to get some perspective on the housing slump. The tech craze pushed the NASDAQ over $5K some 8 years ago. Right now it's $2.3K -- still worth less than it was at its peak all these years later. That's because the peak was artificial, but the decline was real. The housing crunch will not be this dire because the run-ups were not as steep as with the tech stocks. Think about it: The tech loss was $7 trillion, while the housing decline could be $2 trillion -- less than 1/3 of the tech bust. So the overall housing picture is not as bad as it was with the tech bubble.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that the banks are working the White House to get a federal bailout for themselves, at the expense of taxpayers. It is not our job to bail out banks and brokerage houses that made idiotic sub-prime loans. Clark vows to be all over this story to help protect your wallet.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Presidents' Day weekend is the biggest sales time for mattresses. But beware because the bedding business has historically been filled with snakes. When you're looking at their colorful inserts and TV ads, know that they are listing promotional price bedding. Manufacturers make a tiny percent of their production runs to be used for this purpose. When you lay down on a promo mattress in a store, you'll probably think the floor would be more comfortable. This is done on purpose so the salesperson can then steer you to a more expensive mattress. It's the old bait-and-switch. They also make comparison shopping difficult because they never use the same model number. You can look at the same mattress at several stores, but you'll never know it because it's been given a different model number each time.

ConsumerAffairs.com recently reported on the worst places around the country to do your mattress shopping. But Clark wants you to know there are people in the business who play it straight and aren't rodents. You can tell when they don't start with the bait-and-switch and instead actually offer a comfortable bed for a good price. Even still, take a picture of the tag on the mattress to show the model number of what you're buying. This prevents them from later trying a reverse switch and delivering something other than what you purchased. And always remember to pay with a credit card so you're protected from delivery problems or phony additional charges.

Clark also recommends mattresses from the warehouse clubs because they have little markup. He wants to commend Sam's Club for having pullout mattresses available for you to check out. That way you don't have to pull a mattress off the wall. When you do try a mattress out, get a book and chill for a while to thoroughly vet it before buying.